Bank of America admits to losing backup tapes Bank of America has confirmed media reports that a small number of computer data tapes were lost during shipment to a backup data centre. The missing tapes contained critical and highly secure data, including US federal government charge card program customer and account information. In a crisis communications statement, Bank of America said that: “Federal law enforcement officials were immediately engaged when the tapes were discovered missing, and subsequently conducted a thorough investigation into the matter, working closely with Bank of America. The investigation to date has found no evidence to suggest the tapes or their content have been accessed or misused, and the tapes are now presumed lost. “Government cardholder accounts included on the data tapes have been and will continue to be monitored by Bank of America, and government cardholders will be contacted should any unusual activity be detected. No unusual activity has been observed to date. Per standard Bank of America policy, government cardholders will not be held liable for any unauthorized use of their cards.” The incident provides some important lessons for the business continuity industry: • Consider whether using tape media is the most appropriate way to transfer highly sensitive data; • When transporting highly sensitive tapes consider the use of barcoding, RFID or similar tracking mechanisms to monitor the transportation of tapes throughout the logistics chain. • Consider the use of GPS-based tracking devices in tape carrier cases to increase the chances of locating lost tapes. • Consider whether encryption should be used to protect tape contents.
•Date:
1st March 2005 • Region: N.America •Type:
Article •Topic:
IT continuity |
