Dassault Systèmes (DS), a French manufacturing software house,
has confirmed German media reports that a rival Siemens subsidiary
had obtained a confidential database containing details thousands
of Dassault customers.
Dassault Système said that
Siemens Product Lifecycle Management Software (DE) GmbH
admitted having found a list of 3,216 DS customer names from
Germany, Switzerland and Austria on its internal network.
DS said in a statement Siemens did not explain how such trade
secrets found its way to Siemens PLM, nor how it had been used. The
data included price lists, organisational charts and cost details
on customers' maintenance contracts.
Siemens, which seperately faces a £1bn bribery investigation,
returned the customer list to DS and promised to destroy any
copies. "Siemens further committed to respect Dassault Systèmes'
trade secrets," DS said.
An internal audit at DS showed that the information was properly
protected. "Dassault Systèmes deeply regrets that information
obtained illegally could be found on a competitor's intranet, and
reserves the right to any action it deems appropriate to enforce
its rights," it said.
The New York Times reported that a former DS employee was
suspected of stealing the data in the hope of getting a job with
the Siemens firm.