It is a massive security breach. Twenty five million individuals have had their personal information compromised:

“…The government was forced to admit the most fundamental breach of faith between the state and citizen yesterday when it disclosed that the personal records of 25 million individuals, including their dates of birth, addresses, bank accounts and national insurance numbers had been lost in the post, opening up the threat of mass identity fraud and theft from personal bank accounts.”

link: Lost in the post - 25 million at risk after data discs go missing

The reaction in the UK has been unbridled anger- with very good reason. Alice Miles, in a column for The Times, begins her column in this manner:

“Idiots. Utter, unbelievable, jaw-dropping, unpardonable idiots. It is beyond farce, past comprehension, criminally irresponsible and beneath contempt.”

link: Second-class and lost in the post

There has been calls for significant legislation to impose meaningful consequences for such blunders. The government in the UK wants more and more of people’s personal information. It ranges from video surveillance tracking to DNA data bases to fingerprinting every child. This clearly demonstrates that the legislative authorities have an uphill battle in convincing the people that these massive data bases are secure. Such blunders make them look incompetent and foolish.

Catherine Forsythe
Director of Operations
FlyingHamster: http://flyinghamster.com/

Tags: data breach, privacy, security, identity theft, alice miles, united kingdom, government