HSBC Loses Customer Details

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is investigating Britain's biggest bank, the HSBC, as it has admitted losing key details of 370,000 clients. A hefty fine is possible, but HSBC has declined comment. The FSA expects "senior management to have effective controls to manage data security." HSBC life insurance customers have been informed in writing warning them of the loss of a computer disc containing name, date of birth and health information. Such data concerning an individual's health is clearly sensitive and was not even encrypted, but simply password protected. HSBC did not (allegedly) discover the loss until early March and a search over the ensuing weeks for the missing disc has not been successful. The Royal Mail was used as the messenger to post the disc from the HSBC office in Southampton to the Folkestone office of Swiss Re, but recorded delivery was not. Though this isn't a foolproof system for delivery, it would have at least provided, in theory, a method of tracking.