Industry
SUMMARY
Nine PBS is suing Iron Mountain Data Centers to regain access to over 50 terabytes of archival footage spanning 70 years after its cloud vendor, Open Source Storage (OSS), ceased operations. The station had stored its archive with OSS since 2019, but lost access when the vendor went silent and its website disappeared. OSS housed the data at an Iron Mountain facility, and Iron Mountain initially refused to release the files, citing OSS as its customer. A court has granted temporary relief, preventing Iron Mountain from deleting the material, but physical retrieval remains unresolved. The incident highlights the risks of relying on third-party vendors for data storage and underscores the importance of robust backup strategies.
TAKEAWAYS
Nine PBS lost access to 70 years of archive after cloud vendor OSS vanished.
The station is suing Iron Mountain Data Centers to recover over 50 terabytes of footage.
A court has temporarily barred Iron Mountain from deleting the station's archive.
The case serves as a cautionary tale about vendor risk and backup strategies.