Bank of Ireland loses memory stick containing customer details

Bank of Ireland has launched an internal investigation following the loss of a USB memory stick containing the details of almost 1,000 customers.

The bank says the missing device contained the account numbers, the first address line and the contact numbers of 894 customers, but did not include any financial details.

These details were included in a survey of customers carried out as part of the bank's relationship management programme.

Bank of Ireland says steps are being taken to safeguard the interests of those affected, but it has no reason to believe the memory stick has fallen into the wrong hands.

The storage of customer data on an unencrypted memory stick is prohibited under the bank's policies and procedures.

The office of the Data Protection Commissioner is understood to be awaiting the submission of a final report from the bank before commenting publicly.