Japanese Bank Loses 1M Records

A major Japanese bank reported yesterday that it has lost transaction information on about 980,000 customers -- a new record for data loss among the country's banks.

According to a report by the Yomiuri Shimbun, a routine audit of transaction data revealed that records of automated teller machine use, withdrawal and deposit slips, and copies of tax payments are missing from 27 Resona branches -- including the branch in the Diet building, which houses the country's lawmakers.

The bank said it had not received any reports of illegal use of the information or withdrawals of cash. The records did not contain customers' passwords. However, the information lost did include names, account numbers, and transaction details, a bank official said.

Details of Resona's problems were first discovered at the end of last year, when the branches transferred the materials to control centers in Tokyo and Osaka, officials said. The report did not say whether the lost records were digital or paper documents, and they did not say what forms of digital storage media the bank uses.

If the numbers are accurate, the loss of information on about 980,000 clients would exceed the 960,000 customers affected by information lost by Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ in October.

— Tim Wilson, Site Editor, Dark Reading