Showing posts with label ID database. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ID database. Show all posts

03 June 2009

ID Database Breached Even Before It Exists

Well, I was expecting this, but not so soon:

A Glasgow council worker was sacked and another resigned after they were caught snooping into the core database of the Government's Identity Card scheme.

The two Glasgow staff were caught snooping on people in the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Customer Information Systems (CIS) database, which includes among its 85 million records the personal details about everyone in the UK, and which the Identity and Passport Service plans to use as the foundation of the national ID scheme.

"A member of staff tried to access stuff about famous figures," said a spokesman for Glasgow City Council. He said the DWP alerted the council about the breach. He refused to name the celebrity or say how the council dealt with the matter.

The INQ has learned, however, that the staffer caught looking up personal data belonging to celebrities was sacked.

Whether they were resigned or sacked is neither here nor there: it represents no deterrent whatsoever.

As if that's not bad enough, try this:

"The small number of incidents shows that the CIS security system is working," he added.

Er, no: it just means that you've only *caught* two of them, and that the other n, where n may be a large and growing number, have got away with it so far....

Let's just hope Labour continues its entertaining meltdown before it can bring its insane ID card/database plans to total "fruition" - for the identity thieves and blackmailers.

Follow me @glynmoody on Twitter or identi.ca.

23 February 2007

Renew for Freedom: Use It or Lose It

Brits, awake!

Why you should renew your passport, or apply for one IMMEDIATELY if you are aged 16 or over.

The Identity Cards Act 2006 turns your passport into a one-way ticket to control of your identity by the government. It means lifelong surveillance, and untold bureaucracy. This website, produced by the NO2ID campaign, is about how you can renew or apply for a passport to avoid being forced to register on the ID scheme database.

Everyone adult in the UK should do this now; I did as soon as Mad-eyed Tony pushed through his crazy ID Cards legislation, and they started building ID interrogation centres around the UK:

On March 26th 2007 the first of a new network of 69 government ID interrogation centres will open for business. If you apply for your first adult passport after this date, then you may be called for a compulsory "interview" at one of them.

So basically, you have to pay for the privilege of being interrogated; er, anybody seen the film Brazil?