Head of HMRC Resigns ahead of commons statement today Re details of 15 MILLION child benefit claims on lost disc

[VeniVidiVickiQV]

bbc news

I'd be less worried about paedophiles than identity theives. If someone has the information on this disc, they not only have your details but your child's full name, date of birth and NI number. Potentially enough to steal the child's identity.

What the hell were they doing carrying around this information on a disc anyway?? Was the disc even encrypted? Something very wrong about this story that we don't know yet.

there are only 11 million children under 16 in the country. If they can't even count them, that is a true scandal

PMSL at Fio's pic

From Guardian Unlimited:

"It now appears that following a request by the NAO in October two password-protected disks containing all HMRC's child-claimant payment data were sent to the NAO.

This was not registered or recorded and has not arrived yet. "HMRC should never have let this happen," says Darling.

Darling was only informed on November 8, three weeks after the data was sent."

Oh, and great pic, Fio!!

What would the paedophiles do with the disk do you think, Joan?

I also hope this is a nail in the coffin for the ID card system too. This is a disgusting breach in security, I am completely unassured by Alistair ' Honest I don't look like an extra in the 70s series UFO ' Darling. The plonker is now saying that ID cards would protect us from any danger resulting from this kind of security mish-take. Well I work in IT / DBs and I always make sure I opt out where possible when Big Brother or Big Sister want to record my family information, because I absolutely do not trust the government / NHS with this information, call me silly ...

LOL at the disk being stolen for illicit library cards! Suspect DD maybe behind this then..

If they don't know where the disk is how do they know that it has not fallen into the wrong hands?

And who lost it? Surely it was not just popped in the regular post? Surely government internal post? How can you lose it?

I really do think this is the final straw for this government. They keep losing people's details - there was an insurance or pension one not so long ago.

Oh yeah, and it wasn't encrypted??

So the government spends millions of millions on computer systems that can't encode..although go into any Uni IT dept and there will be a couple of geeks who can encrypt anything pretty quickly.

Hope it kills off the id cards, too. It's bad enough having your bank details stolen when the government is trying to GIVE you money, but much worse to have paid for the privilege!

LOL at library cards

It is supposed to have been lost in internal post

Will see if I can find an update on the commons announcement.

Piff - saw your mis-post on the other thread....... for you

Just listened to Alistair Darling's statement in the Commons and am seething at the buck-passing . 25 million children, 7.5 million households with all corresponding names, NI numbers and account details. WTF was such a large amount of personal info doing on a couple of disks? And people wonder why I'm opposed to the introduction of ID cards

Kind of embarassing that the info was en-route to the National Audit Office when it 'disappeared'

what rating do you think the NAO will be giving HMRC for information security,and indeed general good practice ?

I think the next PMQ is going to be good fun.

Go get 'em, David!

Well, they are in breach of the Data Protection Act 1990.

I would imagine that is a big enough issue in itself.

'in breach' of the DPA - I would think the act is curled up in a corner of Whitehall whimpering to itself. 'In breach' more like 'Have driven a socking great truck through said Act'

I am actually finding it hard to believe - I work for a government agency and from the second you set foot through the door you are trained and reminded not to do anything on millioneth as STUPID as this. HOw on earth did they manage it - I bet the people concerned have their pin numbers writtten down in their wallets as well...

It would be a big issue if the Information Commissioner had any real power

well hopefully this will help make the case for the Information Comissioner to really be able to kick backsides!

The IC has limited power to reprimand businesses. Not sure it can actually do anything with government agencies (sigh)

According to the statement all these details had been sent to the NAO once already, and the NAO had returned them (they were not supposed to be sent the details) ... returned? Just returned? Not 'returned with instructions that the person who did it was to be strung up by the ears and not to do it again'? Not a good showing by the NAO at all.

Then again they can send someone to jail:

There are a number of sanctions that the Information Commissioner can take against public authorities for non-compliance. The ultimate sanction is two years imprisonment for the Chief Executive of the non-compliant public authority.

'Dear HMRC

Thank you for the personal and financial details of half the population. Unfortunately this has not helped me determine how many paperclips your department consumed in the last fiscal year. I am therefore retuning the disc you were so kind as to cram 25 million records on - in a plain brown envelope. Do send it back if you think we might have any further use for it

Regards

An Auditor'