Britain sorry for losing data on 25 million people

[Praxius]

Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown sits in the House of Commons, London, Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2007. (AP / PA)

CTV.ca | Britain sorry for losing data on 25 million people

LONDON -- Britain's Treasury chief tried to reassure millions their personal details were safe Wednesday after the one of the biggest security breaches in the country's history -- the loss of two computer disks containing details about nearly half the population. Experts said the loss left millions of people exposed to identity theft and bank fraud. "I can well understand people's anxiety and anger that this has happened. It should never have happened, and I apologize unreservedly for that," Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling told GMTV television. There were gasps from lawmakers in the House of Commons on Tuesday when Darling described the scale of the loss by the country's tax and customs service. Two computer disks that went missing in the post while being sent from one government department to another contained names addresses, dates of birth, national insurance numbers and -- in some cases -- banking details for 25 million adults and children, nearly half the country's population of 60 million. Darling said the disks contained details of the 7.25 million families in Britain claiming child benefit -- a tax-free monthly payment available to everyone with children. He said the delivery was not being tracked and was missing for three weeks before any alarm was raised. He insisted there was no evidence the data had fallen into the hand of criminals, and said police were involved in a hunt for the missing disks. He said banks had been told to look for signs of suspicious activity, he said. The disks were password protected, but the information on them was not encrypted, officials said. "The police tell me there is no evidence there has been any criminal or unusual activity," Darling said. Darling, already rocked by fallout from the run on troubled mortgage lender Northern Rock, said he was not going to resign. "I am not going to start running away from things when things get difficult," he told British Broadcasting Corp. radio. "It is difficult, it is unwelcome in every respect, and I am determined to see it through." Information Commissioner Richard Thomas, the official charged with overseeing data protection, said the lapse was "a shocking case." "I am at a loss to find out what happened in this situation. It is not just about the law. It is about retaining the trust and confidence of the population where so much information is entrusted to government," he told the BBC.

Well all I can say about this at this point is...... Woops!

Do you think this information fell into the hands of the wrong people? I think it did... I mean, if they were in the hands of an employee or someone else who sould have the disks would have probably reported and returned them..... but they're gone.... logically, why else would someone take these disks?

Then again, maybe they're just in the desk drawyer where the Janitor put them while cleaning.

[Matt W]

I can understand the head of Revenue & Customs resigning...but I have yet to see anyone from TNT resigning yet. Colour me unimpressed.

[Suburbanite]

If half the population can fit on two disks, they must being the boring half.

[Arawn-ap-Hywel]

Quote by: Suburbanite If half the population can fit on two disks, they must being the boring half.

the other half don't provide sufficient data

[Praxius]

Well you got your tea time, brunch, bike rides in tuxedos and top hats... What's to report

Ah, see a Canadian can dish them out too Now excuse me while I go eat my bacon wrapped pancakes and go chop my trees down for my iglo.....

[Jack]

Here in America we rely on corporations like TJMax to lose our personal data. We make our government get it the old fashioned way...they steal it (at least the small portion we don't willingly disclose).
I kind of prefer the British way.

[Praxius]

What? The way like leaving information on your country's citizens scattered around like old commadore 64 floppys?

You know, I bet you someone took the discs to copy off their porn off their systems at the office, because a review was coming up, found these disks (Hey, two ways of spelling it) Anyways, maybe someone used them for something else and wiped them.

[Osborn F Enready]

Its funny that the governments of the world still make claims of how they are better at protecting your privacy than anyone else, isn't it.

This is exactly the reason people who care about their privacy, their banking, their future planning should keep this information to themselves, and yet another reason to argue against an "all seeing all knowing" government.

[Praxius]

But in their defense, how can you have a respectiable and functioning government if they have no clue about the people they are serving or their details in what most need or don't?

If they can't know much about the people they are "Suppose to Serve" they won't be very effective, and thus, what would be the point in having governments?

An Alternative perhaps?

[Osborn F Enready]

Prax said: But in their defense, how can you have a respectiable and functioning government if they have no clue about the people they are serving or their details in what most need or don't?

The things that need to be addressed, will be addressed. The things that are personal, are nobodies business.

I don't need to know what a person does after hours if I hire them to work for me 8 hours a day.

I don't need to know work history that is not related to the job I am hiring them for.

Governments make a habit of collecting data, that simply isn't necessary, and often keep it far past its useful purpose, if there ever was one.

Prax said: If they can't know much about the people they are "Suppose to Serve" they won't be very effective, and thus, what would be the point in having governments?

People have a right in only releasing information about them THEY wish to release.

Prax said: An Alternative perhaps?

Yes, being more independent and dropping this notion of centralized government, nanny states and "centralized regulation and prohibition" of all that exists under the sun.

[Arawn-ap-Hywel]

It's sad that government cannot know their peoples and that they survey in the hope of understanding rather than reaching out to all of their citizens.

data is for for those whom wish to control, not for those whom wish to apsire to leading their peoples wishes