Abhinav Lal

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Posted on 31-01-2012

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Update: According to CNET, Ira Rothken, Megaupload's attorney, says the Megaupload data will not be deleted for another two weeks. Hopefully, they will work out a way for users to retrieve their data in the interim.

“The hosting companies have been gracious enough to provide additional time so we can work out some kind of arrangement with the government.”

Original Article

Users of Megaupload and its associate hosting sites have dire news – their data, whether legitimate or not, could be deleted as soon as Thursday. Megupload is currently in hot water with the Department of Justice, and apart from the arrest of its owners and proprietors, its websites have been shutdown, with a FBI Anti-Piracy Warning displayed there instead.

Megaupload, with 150 million registered users, also used third-party storage for hosting its data, such as Carpathia Hosting Inc, and Cogent Communications Group, which together keep the data of approximately 50 million Megaupload users.

As Megaupload’s funds have currently been frozen by federal authorities, the company is unable to pay the third-parties to keep holding its data. Ira Rothken, Megaupload’s attorney, says the company is currently in talks with the prosecution, to help ensure that users’ uploaded data is not deleted.

However, both hosting companies have received letters from the U.S. Attorney’s Office last week, informing them they may begin deleting Megaupload data as soon as Thursday.

"It is our understanding that the hosting companies may begin deleting the contents of the servers beginning as early as 2 February… Should the defendants wish to obtain independent access... that issue must be resolved directly with Cogent or Carpathia."

Carpathia Hosting Inc published a statement soon after the first reports, saying:

"Carpathia Hosting does not have, and has never had, access to the content on Megaupload servers and has no mechanism for returning any content residing on such servers to Megaupload's customers. The reference to the 2 Feb 2012 date in the Department of Justice letter for the deletion of content is not based on any information provided by Carpathia to the US Government. We would recommend that anyone who believes that they have content on MegaUpload servers contact MegaUpload. Please do not contact Carpathia Hosting.""

Source: CNN