Results 1 to 2 of 2

Thread: Info on 3.9M Citigroup customers lost

  1. #1
    Just a Virtualized Geek MrLinus's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2001
    Location
    Redondo Beach, CA
    Posts
    7,323

    Info on 3.9M Citigroup customers lost

    [rant]

    For cryin' out loud! HELLO?!!? Is anybody home?! After the last 6-9 months where we saw tapes getting waylaid or taken, you'd think that the idea of ENCRYPTION might have proven useful by now?? I know. I don't work for CitiBank nor do I know what they have attempted or haven't but geez. Ya gotta wonder?!

    While it's unfortunate that the courier lost the tapes, why wasn't a simple protection put on the tape so that even if it is lost, it don't mean diddly as far as info leakage is concerned?!

    [/rant off]

    Maybe it's just me...

    Computer tapes with information about consumer lending lost by UPS in transit to credit bureau.


    June 6, 2005: 2:46 PM EDT

    NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Citigroup said Monday that personal information on 3.9 million consumer lending customers was lost by UPS while in transit to a credit bureau -- the biggest breach of customer or employee data reported so far.

    Citigroup did not immediately return a call to CNN seeking comment, but it sent its customers a letter saying the tapes included Social Security numbers, names, account history and loan information about retail customers, and former customers, in the United States.

    The letter added that the company had no reason to believe the information has been used inappropriately and that it has received no reports of unauthorized activity.

    "We deeply regret this incident, which occurred in spite of the enhanced security procedures we require of our couriers," Kevin Kessinger, executive vice president of Citigroup (Research), said in a statement. "Beginning in July, this data will be sent electronically in encrypted form," said Kessinger, who heads the company's consumer finance business in North America.

    In its letter, Citigroup told the people affected there was "little risk of your account being compromised because you have already received your loan."

    "No additional credit may be obtained from CitiFinancial without your prior approval, either by initiating a new application or by providing positive proof of identification," the nation's No. 1 financial services company said in the letter.

    In recent months, a number of big banks, retailers and other companies have disclosed that information on customers or employees, including credit-card information, was compromised.

    Bank of America (up $0.10 to $45.88, Research) said in late February that it lost computer backup tapes containing personal information on about 1.2 million charge cards.

    Time Warner Inc., which owns CNN/Money, Time magazine, AOL and other companies, reported last month that information on 600,000 current and former employees was missing.

    In its statement, New York-based Citigroup said the lost tapes contained information about retail customers in the United States as well as some customers with closed retail services accounts. Auto loan and mortgage customers were not affected, it said.

    United Parcel Service (up $0.18 to $73.00, Research) confirmed it lost a package shipped by Citigroup containing computer tapes.

    Norman Black, a spokesman for the world's largest package delivery company, said a "small package" containing data storage tapes was lost while being transferred to a credit reporting bureau.

    Experian, a credit reporting agency, told CNN that it was the intended recipient of the tapes. Don Girard, a spokesman for Experian, said the company alerted Citigroup in the last week of May that its regularly scheduled delivery did not arrive. Girard said the tapes were headed for its Data Center in Allen, Texas.

    Black at UPS said his company and Citigroup are launching internal investigations, adding there was no evidence of theft or fraudulent activity. UPS ships some 14 million packages a day.

    CitiFinancial is inviting customers to enroll via a toll-free number, 1-888-469-8603, in a free credit monitoring service for 90 days. It said it earlier enrolled the customers in a separate service to help prevent identity theft.
    Goodbye, Mittens (1992-2008). My pillow will be cold without your purring beside my head
    Extra! Extra! Get your FREE copy of Insight Newsletter||MsMittens' HomePage

  2. #2
    Senior Member RoadClosed's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2003
    Posts
    3,834
    Trust me we are all thinking, how do I get my tapes encrypted and have the data survive a full on distaster and be quickly read back into a backup site. One would think physical protection with trusted couriers would be enough but there are factors to weigh in. I have worked on Futune 500 disaster plans and not a one encrypted the tapes, relying instead on physical controls. In some cases you would actually induce a higher risk of record contamination in the process.
    West of House
    You are standing in an open field west of a white house, with a boarded front door.
    There is a small mailbox here.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •