Data theft hits 24,000 HSBC clients
HSBC has revealed that a former employee stole the personal details of around 24,000 clients of its private bank in Switzerland in a major security breach three years ago. HSBC said a data theft it uncovered last year was far more serious than it first thought. Initially the bank believed that fewer than 10 customers had been affected. But it admitted on Thursday that approximately 15,000 existing clients and 9,000 previous clients with HSBC accounts in Switzerland before 2006 had been caught. The breach, which affected 15 per cent of HSBC’s total private client base, will come as a serious blow to the reputation of the bank.
