Nov 9, 2000 - 08:29 AM

Internet Glitch at Credit Suisse Puts Stars' Details on Public View The Associated Press

ZURICH, Switzerland (AP) - Switzerland's second-biggest bank accidentally put confidential details of prominent clients' accounts and addresses on a publicly accessible Internet site, a spokesman said Thursday. Credit Suisse spokesman Georg Soendgerat confirmed a report in the mass-circulation daily Blick that the data had been inadvertently entered on an insecure test section of its Internet banking site.

Blick said the people affected included British actor Roger Moore and German pop star Udo Juergens.

Soendgerat said he could not confirm Blick's figure of 675 transfers finding their way into the public domain. The paper said the sums involved ranged from 48 cents to $26,113.

The embarrassing mix-up happened when payment data from Swissperform, the organization that pays royalties to Swiss-based performers, was forwarded to a section of the online banking site which is only supposed to contain fictional data, Soendgerat said.

Switzerland prizes itself for protecting its clients and their confidentiality.

"How can I still feel secure with such an institution?" Blick quoted Juergens as saying. "I'm going to contact a lawyer and take legal steps against the bank." \ http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGACKJFHCFC.html

-- Carl Jenkins (somewherepress@aol.com), November 09, 2000

Answers

CBC

Thu Nov 9, 6:33 pm

Swiss bank accidentally exposes celebrity banking info

A technical glitch at Switzerland's second largest bank revealed the account information and addresses of clients, including British actor Roger Moore, on a publicly accessible Internet site for a week.

Credit Suisse says the data appeared on an insecure test section of its Internet banking site Direct Net.

A Swiss newspaper reported that the mistake revealed money transfers of celebrities such as Moore, who's known for playing James Bond, Swiss entertainer DJ Bobo and German pop star Udo Juergens.

Many other stars were said to be affected by the glitch but they were not identified.

The bank insisted that the public could not get into the bank accounts and that security at Direct Net had not been breached.

Credit Suisse has shut down the public test site, where potential customers try out Web banking features. Users have to go through three levels of security to get into private accounts.

Swiss banks prize themselves on confidentiality, but one client plans to take legal action against the institution in question.

Credit Suisse says it's investigating the mistake.

-- Rachel Gibson (rgibson@hotmail.com), November 09, 2000.