Sparkasse Bremen has chosen an unusual way to save paper. Without further ado, 15,000 USB sticks containing the valid terms and conditions were sent to customers. Data protection advocates no longer understand the world.
The procedure came to light after a photo of the USB stick made the rounds on Reddit. Der Spiegel also became aware of the issue and then followed up with the Sparkasse. This confirmed the USB sticks that had been sent and justified the fact that they did not want to print out 140 pages of paper per customer. Were USB sticks really the better choice?
Aside from the resources required, these also open the door for criminal free riders. They could now also send out USB sticks to Sparkasse customers that look similar, but do not contain the general terms and conditions, but only a Trojan.
Similar to the well-known phishing emails, only this time in physical form. In order to infect the system, it may be enough to insert the USB stick once. In case of doubt, the customers would not notice anything. So it’s no wonder that IT experts are anything but enthusiastic.
Sparkasse Bremen sees the whole thing as less of a problem. After all, the authenticity of the letters was easy to recognize and there were hardly any complaints from the affected business customers. Customers could also access the terms and conditions using a QR code, which was also printed on the letter.