Editing Convar Systeme Deutschland GmbH (section)

==Convar’s Role in WTC Data Recovery==
Following the September 11, 2001, attacks, Convar was hired to recover data from hard drives extracted from the rubble of the WTC and nearby collapsed buildings. The effort focused on reconstructing records for financial companies, credit card firms, telecommunications providers, and accountants whose systems were destroyed when the Twin Towers and other structures, including 7 WTC, collapsed. 

News reports from December 2001, including Reuters, CNN, and Deutsche Welle, provide the primary details of Convar’s work:

Scope of Recovery: Convar processed at least 81 hard drives, completing data recovery on 39 by December 20, 2001. The company reported retrieving 100% of the data from most drives, despite challenges like fire, water damage, and contamination from fine dust pressed into the drives under high pressure. By December, Convar had recovered information from 32 computers, which supported suspicions of unusual financial activity.

Suspicious Financial Transactions: A key focus of Convar’s work was investigating an “unexplained surge” in credit card and financial transactions processed through WTC computer systems in the minutes before and during the attacks. Reports speculated that these transactions, potentially exceeding $100 million, could indicate insider trading or profiteering by individuals with foreknowledge of the attacks. Convar’s laser scanning technology aimed to reconstruct these transactions to trace their origins and destinations, assisting companies and the FBI in piecing together what happened.

Collaboration with Authorities: Convar worked closely with U.S. companies and the FBI, as confirmed by Richard Henschel, a Convar spokesperson. The high cost of recovery limited the number of drives examined, prioritizing those with potential investigative value. Henschel expressed confidence that the “dubious transactions” would eventually be tracked down, though no public follow-up reports confirmed the outcome.

Technological Edge: Convar’s laser-based scanning, described by spokesperson Peter Wagner, read individual drive surfaces to create virtual disks, enabling data recovery from severely damaged hardware. This capability distinguished Convar from other firms involved in WTC data recovery, though companies like SunGard and EMC also supported clients with backup and recovery services.