IT revolution an achilles heel for Swiss bank secrecy

[cory777]

Source: AFP

by Alix Rijckaert Alix Rijckaert – Sat Feb 13, 10:56 pm ET

GENEVA (AFP) – The digital revolution is turning into the achilles heel of Swiss banks, according to security and banking experts quizzed about recent stolen data turning up in the hands of neighbouring countries.

CD-ROMs, USB sticks and even mobile phone cameras have become handy options for disgruntled or ambitious staff to copy computer data on thousands of clients when a few years ago a cumbersome paper trail was needed.

Swiss banks built much of their recent reputation around a legal obligation to maintain secrecy on their customers' banking affairs -- criminal cases aside -- including from the taxman, whether in Switzerland or abroad.

But preventing one-off leaks, which can have much a bigger scope than before, is becoming a conundrum.

Banks are "big consumers of Information Technology" and have to "square the circle" to counter the threat, Gregoire Ribordy, director of network security firm IDQuantique told AFP.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100214/tc_afp/switzerlandbankingsecrecysecurityit