 |
|
| CURRENT SECTION :: Jobs | UK's most visited IT Contractor Site - 250k unique visitors March 2008 |
|
 |
Radical data protection measures brought in at Revenue & Customs after it lost two computer discs containing the details of 25m people have failed to improve security. Official figures show that since October,1,993 security breaches occurred at HMRC, the equivalent of ten a day, compared with eight a day in the year before the loss. This is despite the department hiring 37 data guardians, and appointing a director of data security – a job which until the discs went missing fell to its chairman. But releasing the latest figures in a parliamentary answer, Jane Kennedy, financial secretary to the Treasury, said this greater emphasise on security explained the rise. “This high level of reporting reflects the increased awareness of staff to all forms of security following the child benefit data in loss in October 2007,” she said. Rather than involving actual thefts or losses, she said the security breaches reflected “potential weaknesses” reported by the department’s 90,000-strong workforce. However, the Daily Mail reported the breaches included the losses of computers loaded with people’s personal details, and mobile phones stored with private numbers. Tory MP Philip Hammond asked: “How can the government claim to be taking data security seriously when the number of breaches at the Revenue has actually increased?” The government said HMRC “takes any security incident report seriously and deals with each one appropriately in accordance with its departmental guidance and procedures.” If the department’s breaches continue at their current rate, there will be more than 2,700 by October, which would mean security lapses grew 28% in the 12 months since the discs went missing. Aug 21, 2008 Email this article Printer friendly page Previous Page
|
|
 
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| All content © Contractor UK Limited | [Register for News Letter] | [Privacy Statement] | [Terms of Use] | [Top of Page] |