Do not meddle in the affairs of sysadmins...

...for they are subtle, quick to anger, and can crush your digital nads on a whim.

Filed under certainly not news, but news to me:

(via IHT)

Liechtenstein bank says records passed to Germany have 1,400 client names

LGT Group, the Liechtenstein bank owned by the principality's ruling family, said Monday that records stolen and passed to German tax authorities contained data from 1,400 clients.


The documents, including bank information from 600 Germans, were stolen in 2002 and no later data were given to authorities, the bank said in a statement. The foundations listed in the stolen records had 4,527 beneficiaries, the bank said.

Apparently a disgruntled sysadmin nabbed the records on the way out the door and then shopped them to the Germans.

The kicker is that the Germans paid this guy 4.2 million Euros for his data - and now the Germans are shopping the data to all interested parties. Apparently, the Germans are using it to:

...spearhead a campaign against tax havens across Europe. Next in line is Prince Albert of Monaco, who is due in Berlin this week. Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, is set to read him the riot act. Soon, German officials say, the Chancellor will be on her way to Switzerland to make her case there.
(via timesonline)

and it just gets better from there.

On the one hand - huzzah! patrons of tax havens are getting the shaft!

On the other- a government paid a thief for stolen data, and let him go. He's apparently in a witness protection program now and is going to give videotaped testimony before the US Senate.

And there's this gem (via the NYT) :

In the videotape, Mr. Kieber is disguised and his voice is altered. The royal family of Liechtenstein has hired private detectives to track him down.

 Bizzarro land!

Who writes this stuff?