Electronic privacy is a tricky business, and even with extreme diligence, problems can occur. Last week, HSBC Bank publicly acknowledged that problems with its imaging software resulted in the inadvertent exposure of sensitive data about some of its customers going through bankruptcy proceedings.

The bank said, through notification letters made public last Thursday, that it had blocked sensitive information in Chapter 13 bankruptcy proof-of-claim forms filed electronically, but that the information turned out to be viewable "as a result of the deficiency in the software used to save imaged documents."

The breach, according to HSBC, affected a small number of customers, and involved documents filed between May 1, 2007 and Oct. 17, 2008. The bank also said there is no reason to believe that any personal information was actually compromised.

PCworld.com reported that some customers of HSBC companies were affected, including HSBC Taxpayer Financial Services, Beneficial New Hampshire and Household Finance Corporation.

It has become commonplace for legal documents to be filed online. Paper documents can be easily redacted with black markers, but electronic redaction can pose problems if not done properly.

For more on electronic filing glitches:
- see this PCworld.com article

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