Showing posts with label bank records. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bank records. Show all posts

21 November 2007

Decentralise Your Data - Or Lose It

Aside from the obvious one of not trusting the UK government with personal data, the other lesson to be learned from the catastrophic failure of "security" by the HMG is the obverse to one of free software's key strengths, decentralisation. When you do centralise, you make it easy for some twerp - or criminal - to download all your information onto a couple of discs and then lose them. A decentralised approach is not without its problems, but at least it puts a few barriers in the way of fools and knaves.

20 November 2007

UK Government Loses 15 Million Bank Details

This has to be about the most stupid security lapse in the history of computing:

Confidential details of 15 million child benefit recipients are on a computer disc lost by HM Revenue and Customs, the BBC understands.

Insult is added to injury:

Revenue and Customs says it does not believe the records - names, addresses and bank accounts - have fallen into the wrong hands.

Yeah? And they know that precisely how - because they're psychic, perhaps?

And then the UK government wants us to trust them with our IDs, too? If we did, how long before the odd 60 million IDs get "lost"? At least you can change your bank details - you don't have that option with your identity.

Update 1: What's really heartening is that a surprisingly large proportion of those commenting here on the BBC story spot the ID card connection....

Update 2: Better make that 25 million bank details, plus key data on all children in the UK.