Windows 7 sale The Irish Times - Thu, Mar 11, 2010

Thu 03 Mar 2010Data theft impacted 24,Office Home And Student 2010 Key,000 HSBC accounts
HSBC, Europe's greatest bank,Microsoft Office 2010 Product Key, mentioned a theft of data by a former worker affected as much as 24,000 Swiss client accounts, dealing a hefty blow for the popularity of its personal bank.
The lender had previously stated "less than ten clients" had been impacted after Herve Falciani - a former HSBC computer specialist - stole consumer info through the financial institution which he handed more than to French tax authorities.
“The theft, which was perpetrated by a former IT worker about three years ago, involves approximately 15,000 existing customers who had accounts with the bank in Switzerland before October 2006," HSBC mentioned in a statement.
On top of that, approximately 9,000 accounts that had been closed in the past ended up impacted. These accounts often have been not big enough to be eligible for personal banking services, the financial institution explained. It has 100,000 clients in Switzerland.
HSBC shares have been down 0.4 per cent at 1034 GMT,Office 2010 Professional Key, just underperforming the European banking sector.
The controversy comes at a sensitive time for the secretive sector - which serves rich customers - with countries sometimes using stolen customer data to chase tax evaders, a practice one Swiss lawmaker has likened to bank robbery.
Swiss banking giant UBS has seen billions of Swiss francs of client money gush from its wealth management operations amid repeated blows to its reputation from a high-profile US tax case and massive writedowns that forced it to accept a government bailout in the crisis.
Germany's finance minister,Windows 7 sale, Wolfgang Schaeuble,Microsoft Office Standard 2007, raised the bar in the fight against tax evasion further last month, saying Berlin was prepared to pay for stolen information on potential tax cheats at an unnamed Swiss lender.
HSBC mentioned in December that an ex-employee had stolen knowledge from its Swiss private bank's headquarters in 2006 and 2007, but stated to your best of its knowledge fewer than ten clientele were involved.
HSBC "unreservedly apologised" to customers for the threat to their privacy on Thursday, but stated Swiss authorities stated they will not support the use of the stolen data to answer requests from foreign authorities about tax issues.
Mr Falciani is also reported to have attempted to sell the knowledge to Germany for €2.5 million, which tax investigators there estimated could rake in €100 million for German coffers.
Alexandre Zeller, chief executive of HSBC's non-public lender in Switzerland, explained Mr Falciani transferred knowledge onto a personal computer other than the one the financial institution issued him and fled to neighbouring France while under investigation.
Knowledge theft risk was endemic to your business, Mr Zeller explained, adding that the financial institution had already added protection against this with USB keys and other technologies.
"We will always have new threats and we always have to invest more to ensure the IT security is all it can be," Mr Zeller stated. "At the end of the day, whatever you do, the human factor will remain. Personal banking is a business of trust."
The stolen customer information is limited to accounts in Switzerland, excluding ex-HSBC Guyerzeller accounts.
Reuters