Zurich South Africa discloses loss of data tape with customer information
Johannesburg, South Africa, 22 October, 2009 – Zurich South Africa announced today that it has written to relevant customers, brokers and other parties in South Africa and Botswana to inform them that they may have been affected by the loss of a back-up data tape and the remedial actions being taken. The letters also set out the precautionary measures that Zurich South Africa recommends that these customers, brokers and other third parties can take as well as the steps that Zurich South Africa has in place to support them.
The back-up tape was lost during a routine transfer within South Africa to a data storage centre in August 2008. Zurich South Africa's investigation into the loss of the back-up tape has revealed certain deficiencies in the management of data tape security procedures in South Africa.
To date, Zurich South Africa has seen no evidence to suggest that data has been misused or compromised; however it wants to inform its customers, brokers and other parties that the global best practice in such circumstances is to advise their banks of the potential risks.
Additionally, Zurich South Africa has taken steps to improve the security around the transportation of its data tapes. Furthermore, customers are encouraged to contact Zurich South Africa if they believe that they may have suffered a loss as a result of this incident or if they have any concerns.
A leading firm of external advisors has been appointed to conduct a thorough investigation of this matter and they will also be supporting Zurich South Africa in strengthening its data security procedures.
Guy Munnoch, CEO of Zurich Southern Africa, said: “We apologise to any customers, brokers and other third parties affected by this incident. We take the security of their data very seriously.”
“At this time, our priority is to our customers, brokers and other third parties and we have put in place a dedicated response team to support those impacted.”
“We are implementing all the necessary steps to strengthen our internal processes to ensure that incidents of this nature do not happen again in the future.”
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Note to editors
Issued on behalf of Zurich South Africa by:
Corporate Communications Consultants
Represented by: Rosemary Renton
Tel: 011 783 8926 or 0824910364
Zurich South Africa has provided affected customers with a dedicated telephone number- 0860 112 235 –in their letters
Zurich in South Africa is a short-term insurance company headquartered in Johannesburg and listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Founded in 1965, it offers insurance products and services that respond to the needs of individual, commercial and corporate customers. It has a network of sales areas and a series of service outlets across the country, and employs approximately 1,000 people. In addition, it has subsidiaries locally as well as in Botswana and Zimbabwe.
Zurich Financial Services Group (Zurich) is an insurance-based financial services provider with a global network of subsidiaries and offices in North America and Europe as well as in Asia Pacific, Latin America and other markets. Founded in 1872, the Group is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. It employs approximately 60,000 people serving customers in more than 170 countries.
