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SocGen Trader Was No Super Hacker

Kerviel gained passwords through careless IT security

By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff

Posted Feb 4, 2008 3:56 PM CST
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(Newser) – While he’s been called a computer genius, the access Jerome Kerviel obtained to the Société Générale’s systems was probably the result of terrible IT security, writes PC World, not a successful hack of the French bank’s computers. Managing a bank’s passwords is a task often given to the lowest-level IT employee, which Kerviel was before his infamous stint as a futures trader.

Analysts say such a weak point in otherwise sophisticated security systems, which in this case resulted in Kerviel having unlimited levels of access available to him, is symptomatic of the lack of integration between IT and the highest levels of business. IT security “is something you've got to live with, rather than being viewed as an integral part of the business structure," said a Professor of Communications law at the University of London.

Societe Generale bank CEO Daniel Bouton, second left, leaves a court at the Paris courthouse, Monday Feb .4, 2008 after hearings in a case of money laundering operation between France and Israel. French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde said Monday that some internal controls at Societe Generale failed or were not...
Societe Generale bank CEO Daniel Bouton, second left, leaves a court at the Paris courthouse, Monday Feb .4, 2008 after hearings in a case of money laundering operation between France and Israel. French...   (Associated Press)
Societe Generale bank employees stand outside the bank headquarters in a show of support for Chief Executive Daniel Bouton, Wednesday Jan. 30, 2008 in La Defense, outside Paris. The board of scandal-marred French bank Societe Generale met Wednesday as its top executive is under intense pressure over the loss of...
Societe Generale bank employees stand outside the bank headquarters in a show of support for Chief Executive Daniel Bouton, Wednesday Jan. 30, 2008 in La Defense, outside Paris. The board of scandal-marred...   (Associated Press)
In this photo of an electoral leaflet for the 2001 municipal elections in Pont l'Abbe, western France, French trader Jerome Kerviel is seen, where he is listed as a candidate for the town's council. Kerviel, who is accused of causing about $7 billion in losses at the French bank Societe...
In this photo of an electoral leaflet for the 2001 municipal elections in Pont l'Abbe, western France, French trader Jerome Kerviel is seen, where he is listed as a candidate for the town's council. Kerviel,...   (Associated Press)
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Kerviel admits his methods were 'not sophisticated at all'
Guardian (UK)

French govt. blames bank control mechanisms
Wall Street Journal

 
Internet security • writedowns • security systems • Jérôme Kerviel • Société Générale

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