Bank of America Gears Up for WikiLeaks Fallout; Wall Street Takes Note

Bank of America is gearing up to defend itself in the event that it proves to be the bank that WikiLeaks' Julian Assange has pledged to take down.

After seeing its stock swoon last November amid rumors that Assange was in possession of an executive's hard drive containing potentially damning information about the firm, Bank of America has been on high alert.

According to the New York Times , the company assembled a team of 15 to 20 top officials - led by chief risk officer Bruce Thompson - to spearhead a broad internal investigation. For more than a month the team has been poring over thousands of documents and reviewing every case in which a computer has gone missing, searching for any sign its systems may have been compromised, the newspaper said.

From The New York Times:

In addition to the internal team drawn from departments like finance, technology, legal and communications, the bank has brought in Booz Allen Hamilton, the consulting firm, to help manage the review. It has also sought advice from several top law firms about legal problems that could arise from a disclosure, including the bank's potential liability if private information was disclosed about clients.

The company's chief executive, Brian T. Moynihan, receives regular updates on the team's progress, according to one Bank of America executive familiar with the team's work, who, like other bank officials, was granted anonymity to discuss the confidential inquiry.

Whether Mr. Assange is bluffing, or indeed has Bank of America in its sights at all, the bank's defense strategy represents the latest twist in the controversy over WikiLeaks and Mr. Assange.

Meanwhile, experts say Wall Street is keeping a close eye on the case as a roadmap for how to handle the theft of sensitive information.

From The New York Times:

That Mr. Assange might shift his attention to a private company - especially one as politically unpopular as Bank of America or any of its rivals, which have been stained by taxpayer-financed bailouts and the revelation of improper foreclosure practices - raises a new kind of corporate threat, combining elements of law, technology, public policy, politics and public relations.

"This is a significant moment, and Bank of America has to get out in front of it," said Richard S. Levick, a veteran crisis communications expert. "Corporate America needs to look at what happens here, and how Bank of America handles it."