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Personal Data on Millions Lost by UK Government Department
The UK government department Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs Agency (HMRC) has recently made public the loss of personal data on 25 million people, who make up 7.25 million families. The lost data included individuals’ names, addresses, dates of birth, national insurance numbers, and, in some cases, bank account details.
The loss occurred over a month ago when a junior HMRC official downloaded the data onto two password-protected CDs and sent them in an unregistered and unrecorded package via internal mail to another junior official. Although the CDs were mailed on October 18th, the loss was not reported until November 8th. Despite an internal search, the CDs were not found. HMRC has now contacted the London Metropolitan Police to aid in the search and banks and the general public have now been notified.
In the wake of the news, Paul Gray, head of the HMRC, has resigned and British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, has asked all departments and agencies to check their procedures for storing data. Brown has also promised strengthened rules to ensure the security of sensitive data and has referred to implementing spot check procedures. In the meantime, UK citizens have been warned to remain vigilant in reviewing their financial statements and to be wary of any signs of potential fraud.
For additional information, visit:
http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/11/21/britain.personal/index.html