This story was printed from ZDNet UK, located at http://news.zdnet.co.uk/ 

Story URL: http://news.zdnet.co.uk/business/legal/0,39020651,39205852,00.htm


Worker pleads innocence in data row
Reuters
Reuters
June 27, 2005, 09:45 BST 
An Indian computer worker accused of selling the bank details of more than
1,000 people to a British newspaper says a friend had asked him to give a CD
to a Briton to earn extra money, but he had no idea of its contents. 

Twenty-four-year-old Karan Bahree, still on probation after starting his
10,000 rupee ($230) a month job in April, denied any wrongdoing in a
one-and-a-half page handwritten explanation to his company, Infinity
eSearch, local media reported on Saturday. 

Infinity's lawyer told the Indian Express it was likely Bahree did not know
how important the information on the CD was. 

"He has written that he was supposed to get three pounds ($5.50) per
information," the Express quoted Depak Masih saying. 

"Bahree...thought he could earn some extra money this way by utilizing his
free time." 

Infinity, which says it never had the kind of information the Sun said it
bought, did not say what was on the CD, but said it was checking out
Bahree's explanation, the Express said. Infinity helps Web sites increase
their hits from search engines. 

In the second data loss case since April to rock India's fast-growing call
center and business processing industry, Britain's The Sun said on Thursday
one of its reporters had bought bank details of 1,000 British customers for
three pounds each. Bahree has gone underground and refuses to comment. 

Call centers, which employ 350,000, immediately said they would tighten
security. Workers are already routinely frisked and banned from bringing
everything from paper and pens to portable music players into their office
to prevent them copying data. 

Industry officials played down the Sun report, saying it was a rare case and
no system was foolproof. 

But shares in leading outsourcing firms, including MphasiS BFL, hit by
April's scandal, Hinduja TMT and Wipro , fell on Friday even as the broader
market hit a high. 

Helped by cheap telecoms and English speakers employed at a fifth of Western
wages, India's $5.2 billion back-office exports are expected to jump 40
percent in the year to March, 2006. 

But India's best known industry faces opposition from politicians and unions
in Britain, Europe and the United States who fear the domestic fallout of
jobs going overseas. 



====
This e-mail is intended solely for the addressee. It may contain private and
confidential information. If you are not the intended addressee, please take
no action based on it nor show a copy to anyone. Please reply to this e-mail
to highlight the error. You should also be aware that all electronic mail
from, to, or within Northumbria University may be the subject of a request
under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and related legislation, and
therefore may be required to be disclosed to third parties.
This e-mail and attachments have been scanned for viruses prior to leaving
Northumbria University. Northumbria University will not be liable for any
losses as a result of any viruses being passed on.

************************************************************************************
Distributed through Cyber-Society-Live [CSL]: CSL is a moderated discussion
list made up of people who are interested in the interdisciplinary academic
study of Cyber Society in all its manifestations.To join the list please visit:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/cyber-society-live.html
*************************************************************************************