Megaupload user data could be wiped by Thursday
updated 10:20 am EST, Mon January 30, 2012
Megaupload fighting to keep user data deletion
User data of the recently shuttered Megaupload site may have all their data deleted by this Thursday, US prosecutors revealed. This would reduce the ability of his clients to defend themselves in court, the lawyer representing Megaupload founders added. The site was shut down for allegedly sharing pirated content with the owners' full knowledge.
The files are stored on companies Megaupload hired but they are not getting paid because the government has frozen its assets. The companies, including Carpathia Hosting and Cogent Communications Group, may begin deleting data this Thursday, said a letter filed in the case on Friday by the US attorney's office. The government copied some of these files but did not take the storage drives that contain them, so the executed search warrants no longer gives it access to the data. The government needs to deal with Carpathia and Cogent, who control the servers.
Megaupload maintains its users store and share personal data such as family photos and personal documents. Ira Rothken, a lawyer representing Megaupload, is working with the prosecutors to keep the data of at least 50 million users from being erased. [via The Guardian]
