Wednesday - November 21, 2007

We’re from the Government, and we’re here to protect your data

Wooops, sorry ‘bout that mate.

UK bank data of millions missing

LONDON, England (CNN)—Britain’s finance minister apologized Wednesday for the loss of two computer discs containing the personal data of 25 million people, calling it “inexcusable” and vowing to continue searching for the material.

The two discs contained the department’s entire database relating to the payment of child benefits—a tax-free monthly payment available to everyone with children—Treasury chief Alistair Darling said.

The data on 25 million individuals and 7.25 million families, includes names, addresses, dates of birth, national insurance numbers, and, in some cases, bank account details.

The loss became public Tuesday and prompted the resignation of Paul Gray, the head of Revenue and Customs, which supervises taxation and welfare payments.

“People are entitled to trust the government or any other institution that holds personal information,” Darling told Sky News on Wednesday. “There has been a colossal failure here which shouldn’t have happened.”

Darling said the loss happened in October, when a junior Revenue and Customs official downloaded the data onto two password-protected discs and sent them via internal mail to another.

The package, which was not registered or recorded, never arrived.

Although the CDs were mailed October 18, Darling said, the loss wasn’t reported until November 8.

Just wait until our .gov controls your healthcare records.

Posted by Drew458     on 11/21/2007 at 08:33 AM   
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