Personal and banking details lost again
January 24, 2008
The Ministry of Defence has become the latest government agency to be found guilty of losing the personal and banking details of consumers. It is thought that the details of around 600,000 people may have been lost, and this includes personal information as well as details about bank accounts. The data related to people that had applied to join the Royal Navy, the Marines, or the RAF, and also included passport details and National Insurance numbers.
The data loss occurred as a result of an MoD laptop being stolen, on which the details were stored. According to Information Commissioner Richard Thomas the laptop theft was “a stark illustration of the potency of personal information in a database world”.
He added: “We will require satisfactory answers from the MoD about their data protection practices and a firm assurance that steps have been taken to improve these practices before deciding on the appropriate action to take.”
The laptop was stolen from Edgbaston in Birmingham recently.
One MoD official stated: “The information held is not the same for every individual. In some cases, for casual enquiries, the record is no more than a name. But for those who progressed as far as submitting an application to join the Forces, extensive personal data may be held, including passport details, National Insurance numbers, drivers’ licence details, family details, doctors’ addresses and National Health Service numbers.”
Liam Fox, the shadow defence secretary stated: “It’s just been too easy for data to go missing recently and we need to look at how to protect the details of the public.”
An official from Privacy International said: “I cannot believe that our flagship security agency cannot get this right. The idea that someone could have the computer with the information unencrypted - it is on a par with the HMRC loss.”
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