nonsense.... why shouldnt a person in a 'junior' position be in a position to handle safely a bloody computer disc?... what should he be doing? making the tea? my daughters one year younger then him and has alot of sensetive information at her fingertips... and she works for the government... why not? shes fully trained and competant to do her job as in guessing this 'junior' was too. but yet again, its guessing..

 

wether the discs were or were not encrypted doesnt alter the fact that this junior appears to have been responsable for breaking protocol, acting independantly, and thus losing the discs.

 

The facts are that this sort of info should NOT be sent through the postal system, this my whole point, it should be couriered... NOR should junior members of staff be wholly responsible for this level of information either, I dont care how good the training is (and frankly, with it being a Govt department I dont imagine the "training" to be all that good anyway tbh :lol: ...).. The fact that the data itself was not encrypted is a VERY important factor, because if one of those senior arseholes had encrypted it, then it would matter not if the disk got lost or stolen as it would be incredibly unlikely that any person intercepting the disks would be able to actually access the info.... That being the whole point of "encryption" after all..... -_-

 

You make far too many excuses for these idiots Rob, exactly what is your problem with being highly critical of something that has clearly gone so disastrously wrong at every level....?

 

This aint a few ex-directory phone numbers going astray, this is the personal banking details of about half the fukkin country..... <_<

The facts are that this sort of info should NOT be sent through the postal system, this my whole point, it should be couriered... NOR should junior members of staff be wholly responsible for this level of information either, I dont care how good the training is (and frankly, with it being a Govt department I dont imagine the "training" to be all that good anyway tbh :lol: ...).. The fact that the data itself was not encrypted is a VERY important factor, because if one of those senior arseholes had encrypted it, then it would matter not if the disk got lost or stolen as it would be incredibly unlikely that any person intercepting the disks would be able to actually access the info.... That being the whole point of "encryption" after all..... -_-

 

You make far too many excuses for these idiots Rob, exactly what is your problem with being highly critical of something that has clearly gone so disastrously wrong at every level....?

 

This aint a few ex-directory phone numbers going astray, this is the personal banking details of about half the fukkin country..... <_<

 

im not so much making excuses for these 'idiots' as being cautious prior to knowing the facts... we still dont know them so apportioning blame is still not possible (though i agree about couriers and encrypting)

still dont know them so apportioning blame is still not possible (though i agree about couriers and encrypting)

 

Well, if you think I have a good point about couriers and encrypting, then surely you should be blaming the senior heads of departments.... The average joe admin guy certainly has no authority to come up with what the policy should be on the dissemination of this information or how it makes its way around different centres, management makes those sorts of decisions (or, at least, it should....), management decides whether the policy is to use a courier service or "pop it in the post", a junior admin bod does not have that sort of power, they merely follow the policy as dictated by the management.....

 

Whatever way you look at it mate, sending something like that through the post is a BAD MANAGEMENT DECISION.....

Well, if you think I have a good point about couriers and encrypting, then surely you should be blaming the senior heads of departments.... The average joe admin guy certainly has no authority to come up with what the policy should be on the dissemination of this information or how it makes its way around different centres, management makes those sorts of decisions (or, at least, it should....), management decides whether the policy is to use a courier service or "pop it in the post", a junior admin bod does not have that sort of power, they merely follow the policy as dictated by the management.....

 

Whatever way you look at it mate, sending something like that through the post is a BAD MANAGEMENT DECISION.....

 

but thats the point, if the junior didnt follow the correct proceedings then some of the blame is his too....

but thats the point, if the junior didnt follow the correct proceedings then some of the blame is his too....

Precisely. You can lay down all the rules you want but if some git decides to ignore them, a manager can't do much to stop it.

 

Scott made a few earlier comments in respnse to my posts about IT. I have worked in IT for many years. I have sat down with mamagers to discuss who should have access to sensitive information. Almost invariably, they want to give a lot of access to relatively junior staff with restricted access for more senior staff. They don't want senior staff using their time in providing this sort of information.

 

Having said that, if it is true that someone decided it would be "too expensive" to remove the names and addresses before sending the data, they have some very serious questions to answer. It should have been very simple to remove that information. I cannot see how it could possibly be difficult.

Oh it's all ok ...... for today I have received a personal apology! (well 2 - on for each child :rolleyes: )

 

Dave Hartnett (acting Chairman) is very sorry.

 

"The copy of the data is likely to still be on Government property. The police are now conducting a search, and there is no evidence that it is in the possession of anyone else"

 

 

Why are the police looking? Surely the staff of the department and TNT should be looking ...... if thy are so sure it is still there?

 

If I lose somthing will the police come and look for it for me?

 

 

...and is it beyond them to pop both children's names on one letter, save the 2 letters, 2 envelopes, 2 stamps??

Just be thankful you're not Ma Walton. You wouldn't have got in your front door for envelopes. :cry:

Almost invariably, they want to give a lot of access to relatively junior staff with restricted access for more senior staff.

 

An incredibly foolish policy if you ask me, and the reason why we are in this mess..... -_-

 

Housing benefit details latest to be lost

 

Are all Government departments just a joke?

 

Government officials have halted the transfer of personal data of millions of people after admitting they have lost more computer discs.

 

The Department for Work and Pensions has suspended all "data exchanges" with local authorities because discs containing details of council tax and housing benefit claimants have been mislaid.

 

The loss of information, including national insurance numbers, names, addresses and birth dates, was confirmed in a confidential memo last week from the Local Government Association to councils.

 

At least 45,000 names and personal details are known to have gone missing from one council, with the DWP admitting last night that more authorities have lost discs.

The DWP is the second government department to admit losing data, after the revelation that the Treasury had mislaid 25 million child benefit records at Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs.

 

Local authorities normally send discs to the sprawling DWP offices at Longbenton, in Newcastle, every month.

 

They contain personal details of five million people who receive council tax benefit and four million who claim housing benefit. The records are then checked against details held by the DWP.

 

It is a statutory obligation for councils to provide the information every month and any that fails to do so is threatened with grant cuts.

 

In the first week of August, Kirklees Council, in West Yorks, sent two discs containing the details of 45,000 residents to the DWP via the delivery firm TNT, which was also involved in transporting the child benefit records.

 

On September 2, the DWP contacted officials at Kirklees to say the information had not arrived but was reassured when the council produced a TNT receipt.

 

On November 23, two days after the news that child benefit records had been lost was confirmed in the Commons, the council was told the discs were still missing. The DWP abruptly suspended data record exchanges.

 

A source at Kirklees Council, said: "The frightening thing is that when it happens, other councils are simply told, 'don't worry, just send us another disc'."

 

Robert Light, the leader of Kirklees Council, said: "We're very worried about the ability of government departments to handle the sensitive information which councils are obliged to pass on."

 

A spokesman for the DWP said discs from a "tiny number" of councils had been lost. "We have immediately stopped all transfers of data in and out of the department as part of a review we instigated in the light of the problems at the HMRC. We think the discs from Kirklees are still somewhere in the system but we don't know where."

 

 

Source: Sunday Telegraph