Data Security

wes

Secret terror files left on train

Police are investigating a "serious" security breach after a civil servant lost top-secret documents containing the latest intelligence on al-Qaeda.

The unnamed Cabinet Office employee apparently breached strict security rules when he left the papers on the seat of a train.

A fellow passenger spotted the envelope containing the files and gave it to the BBC, who handed them to the police.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith now faces demands for an official inquiry.

Keith Vaz MP, chairman of the powerful Home Affairs select committee told the BBC: "Such confidential documents should be locked away...they should not be read on trains.

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The above story is the latest example of the British government losing sensitive information. Our own government have also lost sensitive data recently as well. Then there are any number of business, whom have also lost data.

Now with all the information being stored on unsecured laptops and the other media and more groups collecting information on us. How does everyone feel about these kinds of data blunders? We seem to hear about something like this happening every couple of weeks.

Whats steps does everyone think the governments/businesses should take to secure our data, or perhaps the amount of data collected should be reduced, since its seem to go missing so often.

While a lot the instances seem to be down to human error, but there also seems to be a procedural problems that allow such things to happen.

Sleepy

TBH, I'm never hugely worried about this.

Take our own recent example of the Bank of Ireland laptops, the organisation has now been forced to take the measure of encrtypting all company laptops irrespective of whether the user would be dealing with customer information or not. An expensive over-reaction made necessary for PR purposes due to a few opportunistic thieves nicking laptops which they probably sold down the pub to someone who'd just get their kid brother / son / niece whatever to format and install a dodgy copy of XP on.

gandalf

What is quite surprising is the large number of organisations that have no idea of what kind of information they have and the legal implications of holding such information especially as The 2003 Data Protection (Amendment) Act comes into force.

Fratton Fred

gandalf wrote: »

What is quite surprising is the large number of organisations that have no idea of what kind of information they have and the legal implications of holding such information especially as The 2003 Data Protection (Amendment) Act comes into force.

I've come accross several companies who have a shocking lack of knowledge of the DPA and privacy of personal information. I'm amazed more companies have not come unstuck.

gandalf

Well as I work in the Data Security area I hoping for more high profile companies to become unstuck in the future

Fratton Fred

I can't help thinking that this document that was left on a train, may not have been an accident, although I see someone has been suspended over it.

dresden8

Fratton Fred wrote: »

I can't help thinking that this document that was left on a train, may not have been an accident, although I see someone has been suspended over it.

No, people really are that stupid.

Fratton Fred

dresden8 wrote: »

No, people really are that stupid.

sadly, you are very right

gandalf

Well considering the vote on extended detentions for terrorists causing so much grief it may not be an accident that these were left on the train. Deflects the attention of the press somewhat plus cements the FUD that there are evil people out there and thats why you're liberty is being curtailed...

Dammit my tinfoil hat fell off again!

Fratton Fred

gandalf wrote: »

Well considering the vote on extended detentions for terrorists causing so much grief it may not be an accident that these were left on the train. Deflects the attention of the press somewhat plus cements the FUD that there are evil people out there and thats why you're liberty is being curtailed...

Dammit my tinfoil hat fell off again!

A government would never stoop so low would they? That would be like saying 9/11 was "A good day to hide bad news"