Info for all uk members with young children

**Analoguesat** · 20-11-2007

Two computer discs holding the personal details of all families in the UK with a child under 16 have gone missing.
The Child Benefit data on them includes name, address, date of birth, National Insurance number and, where relevant, bank details of 25 million people.

Chancellor Alistair Darling said there was no evidence the data had gone to criminals - but urged people to monitor bank accounts "for unusual activity".

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7103566.stm

**rolfw** · 20-11-2007

This really concerns me, when you hear quotes like this:

Mr Darling told MPs: "Two password protected discs containing a full copy of HMRC's entire data in relation to the payment of child benefit was sent to the NAO, by HMRC's internal post system operated by the courier TNT.

The package was not recorded or registered. It appears the data has failed to reach the addressee in the NAO."

If I sell a small item on Ebay

, I send it recorded, if I send something of over £30 value, I send it special delivery, but they send the most sensitive information in the country by ordinary postal service. oh sorry, not ordinary postal service, TNT. . . . . . . .I wonder how well their staff are vetted.

***2cvbloke*** · 20-11-2007

Originally Posted by rolfw

If I sell a small item on Ebay , I send it recorded, if I send something of over £30 value, I send it special delivery, but they send the most sensitive information in the country by ordinary postal service.

Especially one notorious for stealing things...

**Analoguesat** · 20-11-2007

If anyone finds them please post them to

Mr Smith
Freepost
PO Box 1
Lagos
Nigeria

**jimbo** · 20-11-2007

Originally Posted by rolfw

I wonder how well their staff are vetted.

I take it you mean for brain cell count Rolf. Anyone who has managed at a reasonable level would have had that data delivered by a personal courier service or by a trusted member of staff.

**Analoguesat** · 20-11-2007

Ive tagged a poll onto the thread.

Please remember this forum does not encourage political arguments & discussions (it leads to bad feeling), but this info is important enough to put up for our members. No arguments though!

***Yorks*** · 20-11-2007

I do think that the junior member of staff in question should have been given a proper induction.

I would have probably asked if he or she knew the difference between a post box and an elephant. If the reply had been 'No', I certainly wouldn't have trusted them to post a letter - never mind a security sensitive package.

(The old ones are the best).

**jimbo** · 21-11-2007

I would have thought the colours in the poll would have been blue for 'yes' and red for 'no' and that would be all the political argument you would need.

**Topper** · 21-11-2007

Keel hauling and walking the plank at the very least

**mhku** · 21-11-2007

They could have put it on a secure FTP server and the recipient could have downloaded it minutes? They must have a T1 internet connection?

Posting computer data? Was it a very big Excel spreadsheet (with macros)?

EDIT: The taxman got the chop

_http://www.contractoruk.com/news/003547.html

**Salty25** · 21-11-2007

Originally Posted by Yorks

I do think that the junior member of staff in question should have been given a proper induction.

I would have probably asked if he or she knew the difference between a post box and an elephant. If the reply had been 'No', I certainly wouldn't have trusted them to post a letter - never mind a security sensitive package.

(The old ones are the best).

The office junior shouldn't have been able to access that type of information at all. Anyway, I thought the story has changed and it's now an IT consultant who sent it?

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