People are going to be quite surprised, and probably pretty P/O'd to find their lab report was canceled. At least GIA caught this with its own internal controls and has addressed the problem immediately and publicly. 2 thumbs up, GIA!
GIA Invalidates More Than 1,000 Reports Because of Hacking Rob Bates | October 23, 2015
"The Gemological Institute of America has invalidated 1,042 grading reports issued by its grading lab, as they bear grades that were altered after its system was accessed without authorization by former employees of its database support contractor, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).
The list of affected reports can be seen here. GIA requests that anyone with these reports or their accompanying diamonds return them to its lab for inspection. Entering their numbers into Report Check will show that the reports have been invalidated.
The affected diamonds were mostly submitted in India, though some also came into GIA’s Carlsbad, Calif., headquarters. The stones were graded in whole or in part at various GIA locations, including its U.S. and India labs. The diamonds were submitted between November 2014 and September 2015; approximately 900 were submitted in July and August.
Mostly just keeping the cats separated and fighting the balky computer, really need to build a new one. I did snag something interesting at the last gem show. I'll try to get a decent photo and post a 'guess what' thread.
GIA Discloses Companies Banned in Hacking Investigation Rob Bates | October 27, 2015
"The Gemological Institute of America is publicly disclosing the names of the 19 companies it says submitted diamonds that received altered grading reports due to unauthorized remote access of its computer system.
The companies can no longer submit stones to the lab, pending further investigation by Indian police.
A statement says that Indian authorities have also arrested two former employees of Tata Consultancy Services, the GIA’s systems provider, in the investigation. GIA said it did not know what they are charged with. Tata did not respond to a request for comment.
The discovery of the unauthorized access has led GIA to invalidate 1,042 grading reports. Their report numbers, along with the submitting companies, can be seen here. *see below
GIA decided to release the names after “police informed GIA that the investigation has reached a point where we may now publish the client accounts that submitted the diamonds in question,” according to a statement.
GIA’s spreadsheet lists 19 submitting companies, mostly based in India, though at least one looks to be based in Hong Kong. Most of the clients submitted dozens of diamonds; three listed names submitted only one. At least two seem to share common ownership.
The spreadsheet lists the stones’ report numbers, carat weights, and shapes. It does not list their color and clarity, as they have may have been altered.
Several of the diamonds can be found online. For instance, Googling GIA report 1208363128—a 1.43 ct. round brilliant—leads to several online diamond listings, most of which have been removed.
Here is an online scan of one invalidated report (5203571257), which says the accompanying a 1.06 ct. stone has been graded D internally flawless. ..."
Does GIA really think the reports will all be returned?
The companies named in the fraud have been identified and banned, so what incentive do they have to return the reports? Most reports aren't checked by consumers, so they'll just use them for the purpose they had them altered for in the first place - to get more money selling the stones as higher quality than they are.
GIA: Most Doctored Reports Are Still Out There Rob Bates | November 30, 2015
"Gemological Institute of America has gotten back only 175 of the 1,042 reports it invalidated because of unauthorized access to its lab database.
A full list can be seen here. It is requesting that all invalidated reports be immediately returned.
GIA is also offering a free confirmation service for reports issued from November 2014 through October 2015. Anyone with a GIA grading report issued during that period concerned about its accuracy may submit it for a recheck to a GIA location. The no-cost confirmation service will be available until Jan. 30, 2016.
The troubling episode began earlier this year, when GIA noticed grading irregularities and began an investigation. It discovered that two former employees of contractor Tata Consultancy Services had obtained “unauthorized access” to the lab’s database and allegedly changed hundreds of grades. GIA made public the 1,000 affected reports as well as the submitting companies and is asking that they all be returned to GIA.
