As a policy, Metro deletes work emails after six months. The Office of the Inspector General said that time frame can be detrimental to investigations and safety.
The lead investigator into an intrusion of Metro’s network by a former contractor’s Russia-based computer said the computer contained thousands of documents, some marked confidential, that had been automatically syncing from Metro’s system for years while the worker was under contract.James S.
Retaining emails is a complex issue for agencies — a balance between keeping records available to the public, oversight and watchdog agencies, law enforcement, courts and auditors, while watching the expenses of storing and organizing emails that include a trove of inconsequential messages. Most transit agency policies are set by states, according to the American Public Transportation Association, but Metro sets its own rules with governance that consists of a board of representatives from D.C.
Smith said the contractor told investigators that after a prompt to reauthenticate his computer connection, he logged on to his computer in Russia using the Google Chrome Remote Desktop program and used his still-active Metro credentials to reauthenticate with Microsoft, reestablishing a connection with his computers in the United States that probably began years ago when he was working on Metro projects from Russia, Smith said.
Smith said the OIG is attempting to interview Microsoft to discuss its findings, but “our indications are that it did” sync. Microsoft did not return a message Saturday. Among transit agencies, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority of New York — the nation’s largest — has a multiyear retention policy “with the exact length of time subject to classification of data,” MTA spokesman Michael Cortez said.
Metro changed its policy that year, expanding the period to six months. The policy applies to employees, contractors and vendors who use Metro’s email system. In a letter to the full Metro board, Cherrington wrote that the email policy also inhibited work of the National Transportation Safety Board, Department of Transportation and the safety commission — all of which were looking into the 7000-series cars. He said the OIG had brought up the issue as early as 2019 in a memo to then-General Manager Paul J. Wiedefeld.
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