Bank of America Loses Data
Bank of America Corp. is notifying federal charge-card holders that backup computer tapes containing electronic information on 1.2 million government accounts have been lost.
"We have no evidence to suggest the information has been accessed or misused," said Alexandra Trower , a spokeswoman for the Charlotte, N.C.-based bank. She said Bank of America has been monitoring the accounts in question and hasn't found unusual activity.
The tapes contain information on card accounts for travel and purchasing that Bank of America issues to employees of various federal agencies under a contract with the General Services Administration. Information on the tapes varies by account but includes names, addresses, account numbers and Social Security numbers.
Among the information that may be compromised on the missing tapes is private data on all 100 U.S. Senators, according to a person familiar with the situation. Bank of America officials notified the Secret Service and other agencies that it will monitor the government-issued Visa accounts belonging to all U.S. Senators for an indefinite period, this person said.
The tapes were lost in late December while being shipped to a data storage facility for safekeeping. Bank of America said it immediately notified federal law-enforcement officials, who launched an "intense" investigation with the "full cooperation" of the bank's information-security team. Investigators believe the tapes were lost in transit, not stolen, Ms. Trower said. She said it appears the package containing the tapes was damaged, and a thorough search was done in an attempt to locate the tapes.
Bank of America declined to identify which law-enforcement agency investigated the incident, where the loss occurred or how the tapes were being transported, citing security concerns. The bank wouldn't specify the number of tapes lost, except to say it was "a few."
"We have the strongest information policies and procedures in the industry," Ms. Trower said, emphasizing that the incident was an isolated event.
Bank of America's disclosure comes amid a growing uproar over an apparent identity-theft ring that fraudulently gained access to ChoicePoint Inc. databases, compromising 145,000 records. ChoicePoint, of Alpharetta, Ga., is one of the largest sellers of private consumer data. In that case, criminals used fake documentation to open 50 fraudulent accounts with ChoicePoint, posing as businesses seeking information about potential employees and customers. For a fee of $100 to $200 per account, they gained access to a trove of personal data including addresses, phone numbers and Social Security numbers. It still isn't clear whether any financial fraud occurred as a result.
Ms. Trower, the Bank of America spokeswoman, said the loss of the backup computer tapes is "totally different and in no way analogous" to the situation at ChoicePoint.
The Bank of America tapes have no labels indicating their content, according to a person familiar with the matter, and it would take a combination of sophisticated software and technology expertise to make use of their contents.
Mary Alice Johnson, a GSA spokeswoman, said the agency was satisfied with Bank of America's handling of the incident. "They have behaved professionally and as a good corporate citizen, and have showed concern for the agencies and the cardholders," she said.
Federal authorities initially had directed Bank of America not to notify cardholders during the investigation's early stages, but have now given the go-ahead to do so, Ms. Trower said. Cardholders have been mailed explanatory letters advising them that the bank will continue to monitor their accounts for unusual activity. The letter also provides a toll-free number for any questions, and says the bank regrets any inconvenience resulting from the loss of the backup tapes. Bank of America said it sees no need to close the accounts and reissue cards, but it will do so if customers request it.
Barbara Desoer, Bank of America's global technology service and fulfillment executive, said she was unaware of any similar incidents in the past, adding that the bank followed its standard procedures for shipping the backup tapes. The incident has "caused us to revisit all policies and procedures," Ms. Desoer said, including ways to minimize travel time for the shipments. She declined to be more specific about any changes.
美国银行丢失包含信用卡数据的电脑备份磁带
美国银行(Bank of America Corp., BAC)表示，该银行丢失了电脑备份磁带，这些电脑备份磁带包含约120万张联邦政府信用卡上的用户姓名和社会安全号码等个人信息。
美国银行在上周五披露这一问题时称，没有迹象显示这些信息被滥用或提取，因为自去年12月底这些磁带丢失后，在涉及这些信用卡上没有出现可疑的活动。美国银行发言人Alexandra Trower表示，该银行认为身份盗用极可能并未发生。
美国银行在获得联邦政府许可后于上周开始向信用卡用户发出通知，但表示除非用户提出要求，否则该银行不计划冻结受到影响的帐户或停止发行新卡。
丢失的磁带包含签发给联邦政府机构工作人员的威士(VISA)信用卡上的信息。美国银行不愿透露这些联邦政府机构的名称，但美国国防部(Defense Department)表示其900,000名工作人员可能受到影响。据一位知情人士透露，约全部100名参议员的个人信息也包含在这些磁带上。
这些磁带是运送到未透露的数据存储地点以进行保管的途中丢失的。装有这些磁带的外包装明显受损，但美国银行拒绝就如何运送磁带发表评论。该银行将丢失的磁带数目描述为“一些”。
美国银行不能排除未经授权购买以利用丢失的数据的可能性，但表示帐户号码、姓名、地址和其他磁带包含的内容非常零碎，没有极为精密的设备和高超的专业技术，轻易是不能进入这些数据的。
