• Welcome to the LegalBeagles Consumer and Legal Forum.
    Please Register to get the most out of the forum. Registration is free and only needs a username and email address.
    REGISTER
    Please do not post your full name, reference numbers or any identifiable details on the forum.

Company loses data on criminals

Collapse
Loading...
X
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Company loses data on criminals

    A contractor working for the Home Office has lost a computer memory stick containing personal details about tens of thousands of criminals.

    The Home Office was first told by private firm PA Consulting on Monday that the data might be missing.

    The lost data includes details about 10,000 prolific offenders as well as information on all 84,000 prisoners in England and Wales.

    The Home Office said a full investigation was being conducted.

    They said the police and the Information Commissioner had been informed.

    Earlier this week a BBC analysis found sensitive data potentially affecting more than four million people was lost by government departments in the year to April.

    Cases included the loss of the National Insurance numbers of 17,000 people and the theft of a laptop with encrypted details of 17,000 Sats markers.

    The details of 25 million child benefit claimants vanished last year.

    The incident led to the recommendation that government departments should give details of personal data losses. The contractor confirmed to the Home Office on Tuesday it had failed to uncover the memory stick, but it was not clear how it came to be lost.

    The data on the stick also includes information from the Police National Computer of some 30,000 people with six or more convictions in the last year.

    The transfer of further data to PA Consulting on the project has been suspended pending the investigation.

    'Toxic liability'

    David Smith, Deputy Commissioner in the Information Commissioner's Office, said the latest loss showed that personal information could be a "toxic liability" if not handled properly.

    "It is deeply worrying that after a number of major data losses and the publication of two government reports on high profile breaches of the Data Protection Act, more personal information has been reported lost," he said.

    He added that data protection needed to be taken seriously at all levels and sensitive information, such as prisoner records, held securely at all times.

    Mr Smith said: "We expect the Home Office to provide us at the Information Commissioner's Office with a copy of the [internal investigation] report and its findings.

    "We will then decide what further action may be appropriate. Searching questions must be answered about what safeguards were in place to protect this information."

    'Unfit'

    Shadow Home Secretary, Dominic Grieve, said there had been a "massive failure of duty".

    He said: "What is more scandalous is that it is not the first time that the government has been shown to be completely incapable of protecting the integrity of highly sensitive data, rendering them unfit to be charged with protecting our safety.

    "The British taxpayer will be absolutely outraged if they are made to pick up the bill for compensation to serious criminals."

    No one at PA Consulting was available for comment.



    BBC NEWS | UK | Company loses data on criminals

  • #2
    Re: Company loses data on criminals

    They should really stop using memory sticks and cd's for storing this info on.
    #staysafestayhome

    Any support I provide is offered without liability, if you are unsure please seek professional legal guidance.

    Received a Court Claim? Read >>>>> First Steps

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Company loses data on criminals

      PA Consulting will lose the £1.5m, three-year deal after it lost a memory stick containing the names, addresses and expected release dates of 84,000 prisoners in England and Wales.

      The Home Secretary said all PA Consulting's contracts with the department - worth £8m a year - will be reviewed, along with those signed with other firms.

      The Cabinet Office will also launch a review of all contracts signed by the Government with private companies to ensure they are "appropriate".

      "Our contract had stipulated the sort of security provisions that needed to be in place and that had not happened," Ms Smith said.

      Cancelling the contract will not cost the taxpayer and any expenses incurred will have to be met by PA Consulting, she added.

      The memory stick was left in an unlocked drawer in an unsecured office.

      An internal Home Office report into the incident said: "The investigation into the memory stick loss indicates that it is most likely that the memory stick was stolen by an opportunistic thief for the value of the stick when it was left in an insecure location in PA Consulting Group's offices.

      There was a "low overall risk" to public protection, it concluded.

      But it went on: "There are a small number of individual cases where special action is being considered by the appropriate authorities."

      The incident has raised further doubts about the Government's ID card project, which PA Consulting is involved in.

      At the weekend, it emerged that another private contractor, EDS, mislaid a computer disc carrying personal details of thousands of employees of the National Offender Management Service in July last year.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Company loses data on criminals

        I think the Home Office needs a new security consultant
        #staysafestayhome

        Any support I provide is offered without liability, if you are unsure please seek professional legal guidance.

        Received a Court Claim? Read >>>>> First Steps

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Company loses data on criminals

          Bet they won't give me the job though !!

          Comment

          View our Terms and Conditions

          LegalBeagles Group uses cookies to enhance your browsing experience and to create a secure and effective website. By using this website, you are consenting to such use.To find out more and learn how to manage cookies please read our Cookie and Privacy Policy.

          If you would like to opt in, or out, of receiving news and marketing from LegalBeagles Group Ltd you can amend your settings at any time here.


          If you would like to cancel your registration please Contact Us. We will delete your user details on request, however, any previously posted user content will remain on the site with your username removed and 'Guest' inserted.
          Working...
          X