And to close the story, apparently the email was "never read" and Google was able to delete the email and reactivate the user's account.

Not that it doesn't leave a whole lot of questions on the table — not the least of which being when Rocky Mountain Bank intends to admit fault in this matter. (Actually, the answer to that appears to be the same as when I'll do business with them: never.)

Hmm. According to this follow-up report, "The companies said in a joint motion that Google had complied with the order. They also said they lodged a separate report to the court showing that the bank's original request was now 'moot.' Therefore, they argued, Google should be allowed to restore the user's access to the Gmail account."

I could see a few different possibilities why they might consider the request "moot":

1) RMB did what they should've done in the first place: considered the data compromised, invalidated all information where possible (i.e. changed account numbers or closed affected accounts), and set up credit and identity monitoring services for affected customers.

2) RMB got a hold of the account holder (either through a returned email or through contact information that Google was forced to turn over), made him promise to delete and not divulge the information (the nature of this promise is left to the imagination of the reader), and consider the matter closed.

3) RMB sent their hit squad (a.k.a. their "Leaked Information Containment Unit") and terminated the account holder.

Still, this is something that never should've happened in the first place, and I still think both Rocky Mountain Bank and the judge should be sanctioned appropriately to make sure it never happens again.

2009-09-25T11:38:49.620-06:00

Good Post! I SO can't wait to see how this plays out!