14 DAY TRIAL // If you think the HMRC data loss affecting 25 million people is not enough to make you accept the fact that your information is not secure wherever it would be, then listen to this: another data loss occurred in UK, as details of about 3 million people had "gone missing from a facility in Iowa in the United States."
The information was copied on hard disc drive, which apparently contained names, addresses and other details belonging to learner drivers in UK. No credit cards of bank accounts info was included, the officials said according to PC Magazine. Transport Secretary, Ruth Kelly, confirmed the data loss and announced that they were currently in the middle of a security improvement process supposed to prevent such data losses.
"I apologize for any uncertainty or concern that these individuals may experience", she said according to the same source mentioned above. "[The loss was] further evidence of systemic failure in the government's handling of private data, evidence of a basic lack of competence by this government", Conservative transport spokeswoman, Theresa Villiers, added for PC Magazine. "Quite simply the government is failing in its duty to obey its own laws on data protection."
This is not the first data loss and I don't really believe it is the last one, as more and more incidents reveal weak security measures and unencrypted information belonging to consumers available all around. Certainly, we can talk about two main causes: weak security tools and officials' negligence.
Just think at the HMRC data loss, when no less than 25 million people were affected. Two unencrypted discs containing all sorts of details were sent to another department, but they've never reached their destination. Who's fault it is? The government's, for leaving the details unprotected, or the employees', for sending them on unencrypted discs?