FiL wants all our data

[HighlandCowSaysBooNotMoo]

My father in law works in a government role.
Today he put a message in the family WhatsApp group asking if we could send him our addresses, d.o.bs, mothers maiden names, our place of birth, our address history, previous maiden names etc.
Apparently he needs this info from his 4 adult children, their spouses (me included) , his own siblings and his siblings spouses, grandchildren, his in laws etc. Basically he is covering every member of the family and spouses etc over the age of 18.
He has put something light hearted about it being needed for an enhanced security check that he's been told he needs for his job.
He is not changing jobs or position in the company. He has been in this job for since my husband was a wee kid!!
A couple of people have responded straight away with their data.
DH says IABU not to share mine with his dad
What do I do?

Normally people with ordinary Civil Service jobs would be permitted to say what the reason was - with the security services, not even that

It’s previous addresses that my dad would struggle with - shared uni houses etc. even for me never mind the in laws.

I also had to double check dates of birth when I booked flights recently - I know my siblings but not the in laws (the year always stumps me)

This thread.

My dad worked in active labs and every few years would have these kind of checks from government security. We sometimes were interviewed, just asked few random questions. But it was all to do with the area he worked in.

This is normal for certain government employees. I've been through it from both ways. I've had to supply the information for my job, and I've also been vetted for my son's job. Your FIL doesn't need to change jobs for heightened security measures to be required and given the current climate I'm certainly not surprised.

If he needs enhanced security in his job, he will have been asked to get all your info.

This was what I was going to say. You don't do your own vetting. I think its very weird that he is collecting the data. Anyone collecting the data should send you their gdpr and privacy policies and tell you exactly what they will do with the data, and how long they are holding it for.

For goodness sake. Read the thread. There are hundreds of us who've posted on here more to say is perfectly normal. The person being vetted has to provide the basic details of family members in order for the vetters to then do the checks.

How do you expect the vetter to know who the person's contacts are to check on if they don't have their names, birth dates and linked addresses? They're not psychic.

Also it would be insanely time consuming to find this basic information using data helps by different government departments. A single form submitted by the applicant with all the relevant and very basic data in makes it much more simple, and also any deliberate false information is then their responsibility and traceable back to the applicant.

A visa?!

Well, no, they wouldn't need that information for a visa!

But to work with British state secrets and top secret government information, you do need to be highly vetted and background searched.

🙄

He can take a long skip off a short pier!

Ive worked for the government and have enhanced security and never needed any of that!! He is up to something.

Unless he is secretly undercover for MI5 and even then i think they do the searching as no one suspicious is going to hand over details!

I’ve been through an enhanced security check and they do ask for the information he’s asked for. I think you’re being unreasonable unless there’s a specific reason/previous experience which explains why you’re reluctant

Literally tens of people in this thread have explained that this is needed for DV / eDV vetting, with explanatory links. I am DV vetted and went through this exact process.

This is perfectly normal for high level security clearance. It would not be shared beyond his government department & would be stored securely.

The clearances are currently taking up to two years to come through as well (unless expedited for particular roles) so be prepared for the information to need to be collected again in that time!

I doubt the MoD etc send out their privacy policies to random people. Also, obviously in-laws are needed as well as blood relatives for security. Why is everyone so niave?

But that’s how it works? He puts the information in a form, the vetting agency (not the company) uses it for whatever checks they need to make.

But how will HE store the info when he gets it-after he's passed it on to 'the Govt'? If its sent to him electronically he also has a responsibility to handle that data in accordance with gdpr. And simply deleting it from WhatsApp or email is no guarantee of it being securely disposed of. I wouldn't trust my personal details to ANYONE who asks for it via WhatsApp!! And I wouldn't care if 'the govt' wants this info from him for his security vetting. If they wanted information about me for whatever reason they can flipping well request it themselves. Judging by the levels of unquestioning compliance demonstrated by so many responses on here, its no wonder scammers get away with it so often. Treat your personal data as a private & confidential-never hand it over to a third party-even if it's your FIL-without a full understanding of why its needed, and how the info will be used, stored, and for how long in accordance with gdpr.

You've had enhanced DV and the form didn't ask for any of those details?

Suuuuure you've had EDV.

He will complete a form with the information. He doesn't have an obligation to the sender under GDPR as he isn't a data handler. They asked a relative for their information in order to complete a form.

He can however request a copy of the vetting companies privacy / GDPR policy for the OP.

This is such an MN thread. People who have experience of having had Enhanced DV explaining this is normal, just respond in a direct whatsapp message. That "the company" don't request these details, the employee being vetted literally puts them on a form. Yes, they can get all of this information, but why make it hard for them? You can say "not sure" about specific addresses, like when at Uni and you simply don't remember it - just say why.

So, to reiterate. Yes, this is normal for DV and Enhanced DV. Yes the person being vetted is asked to supply this information. No, the vetting company don't reach out and ask for it. Yes, it is renewed at regular intervals, and while not changing a job a new project or similar can often require it where SC was only required beforehand. No, the friends and family of the person being vetted don't have a right to ask what the job is as they literally can't be told. Anyone who answers "yes, I am a spy" when being asked isn't a spy. You will think they have some quite dull job. You're not so special to that person that they will tell you.

He needs it for a security clearance check. I had to do it often in my previous job. What do you think will happen to you if you give this basic info? 🙄

I wouldn't give my data to ANYONE who cant/wont/doesn't understand how to keep it secure. Period. And I wouldn't advise anyone else to either.

Where does she say her FIL doesn't know/won't/can't keep her information secure??

Here is the Privacy and data protection policy for United Kingdom Security Vetting:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/united-kingdom-security-vetting-privacy-and-data-protection