Bank loses tapes with data on 4.5M clients

Source: Computerworld

May 30, 2008 (Computerworld) Bank of New York Mellon Corp. officials last week confirmed that a box of unencrypted data storage tapes holding personal information of more than 4.5 million individuals was lost more than three months ago by a third-party vendor during transport to an off-site facility.

The bank informed the Connecticut State Attorney General's Office that the tapes belonging to its BNY Mellon Shareowner Services division were lost in transport by off-site storage firm Archive America on Feb. 27. The missing backup tapes include names, birth dates, Social Security numbers, and other information from customers of BNY Mellon and the People's United Bank in Bridgeport, Conn., according to a statement by Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal.

Archive America refused to comment about the missing backup tape, citing confidentiality agreements. A People's United Bank spokesman could not be reached for comment.

BNY Mellon Shareowner Services, which includes handling employee stock option plans, said that it has begun notifying affected clients. It contended that none of the unencrypted data has been accessed or used.


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We have laws and penalties for such sleezy practices, don't we?

I'm fed up with congress and their impotent ways. They really don't give a goddamn about US. Democrats have a majority and still we get NOTHING!

There is no excuse in this day and age that encryption is lacking on any backup no matter what kind of media we are talking about. Any data that a company is holding for it's customers should have the highest level of certainty. This applies to laptops and thumb drives as well.

as a Costco shareholder. They use BNY Mellon as a transfer agent and boy do they suck. Of course BNY Mellon is nice enough to alert customers of a possible breach on their website: http://www.mellon.com/mis/index.html (Not.)

before some hackster/phisher gets ahold of a critical mass of this sort of data, at which point the only solution will be a general credit amnesty. Nice people (the ones who spend within their means and pay their bills) will, as usual, finish last, and every ass hat who has hyperconsumed him/herself into endless debt will get the ultimate get-out-of-jail-free card.

remember who built the system. The electronic payment system is pretty impressive. It would take more than that to get a "fight club" outcome.

eyeballs are mass consumers who chose to purchase mindlessly and consume like idiots. There are some out there that do this.. However, there are many who use c.c. as welfare. When the price of gas and groceries and everything increase, and the paycheck doesn't, the only choice a "middleclass" person has at that point is to use their credit cards. The idea that people like to be in debt is ridiculous.

This is a direct result of our Govt looking out for big business and not for the people. If they were looking out for the people, min. wage would increase, businesses wouldn't be offshoring without heavy tax penalties, no one would know what health ins. was because healthcare would be paid by the govt, children would be able to attend college without indebting themselves up to their eyeballs, and people would have pension/ retirement packages from their jobs.... The govt is the ultimate failure. Blame the right people; not those that are trying and working their asses off just to pay for a roof and a meager life.

My wife's company stock options are serviced by these "charming" folks.


:banghead: :argh:

:argh:

If it was stolen or someone finds it they would have to have more specialized equipment to retrieve the data.

Depending on the type of tape used.