Citi unencrypted tapes "go missing" with confidential customer info

[doc_strange]

Yet another financial manages to have "go missing" a tape-set full of "Social Security numbers, names, account history and loan information about retail customers, and former customers" -- this time from a division of Citi; the tapes were bound for Experian. They didn't make it.

Read about it on CNN.

A number of other financials have also reported missing tapes. Makes you wonder whether these are "coincidental" losses. Two possibilities: things have been sloppy all along and new audit rules are finding out; and/or there's a targeted effort to nail [backup] copies of this financial data.

Mind, I think the REAL issue is that this petty data is all it takes to compromise someone's financial LIFE... but that's a rant for another day.

Comments

[docstrange.livejournal.com]

A Robin Hood or just a hood. One must wonder, yes. Personally, I vote "hood" since they can just do another dump and send to Experian.

[marsgov.livejournal.com]

Well, yes, for rhetorical reasons I carefully avoided the obvious, that the tapes would simply be sent again.

But the thieves seem to be performing an important public service at this point; they're highlighting not only the lack of security, but the proliferation of data.

[liana]

Considering how much data has been exposed lately, let's hope that someone gets the hint Real Soon Now.

[docstrange.livejournal.com]

I have to agree with that (and tezliana) -- whether there are thieves or not. You know I more or less agree on your point that liability needs to shift onto the lender. Then the nature of the data will matter less than its evidentiary value.