EDS' Trouble Down Under

That was 1997. This is now. Investigators from EDS raided CBA's data center in Sydney to gather information on alleged misconduct concerning a number of EDS employees. According to several new reports, EDS consultants and engineers on-site at CBA were allegedly using company time and resources to download copyright-protected material, such as music and movies, as well as pornographic materials, for illegal distribution; internal investigators at EDS apparently confiscated various servers and hard drives as part of the investigation.

An EDS spokesperson confirmed to Australian news agencies that staff members were being investigated. The good news is that the bank's information was not used or compromised, according to various reports. A bank spokesperson also stressed that the incident was an EDS-only issue and that no CBA employees were involved in the alleged misconduct.

At press time, no EDS employees had been officially charged with any crimes. Still, the controversy is a serious bruise for a company that since experiencing a financial meltdown in late 2002—which later cost former CEO Dick Brown his job—has been trying to regain its form. Employees more interested in porn than helping customers won't help.