14 DAY TRIAL // Let's suppose that all your private details are stored on a computer controlled by a government official. Because the employee is quite negligent with the information he has, he loses it and nobody knows exactly if it went in criminal hands or not. If an attacker can use your details in order to conduct criminal activities, how would you react? Well, I would be pretty angry about the data loss, but at the same time, I would be scared that my information could be used in all sorts of malicious attempts. This would obviously get me into trouble, even if I had no fault.
Now, let me introduce you to today's piece of news, so that you can understand what I meant: a contractor working in the Department for Work and Pensions took two CDs containing claimants' details at home and forgot to return them. Moreover, she has kept the discs at home for about a year. Her explanation was simple: she forgot to return them, as she was no longer employed by the DWP, the woman said according to BBC News.
The Department for Work and Pensions is an UK government department that is supposed to "promote opportunity and independence for all, help individuals achieve their potential through employment and work to end poverty in all its forms," as the official website states.
According to the source mentioned above, the two CDs contained names, addresses, National Insurance numbers and dates of birth. The details were not encrypted, but the discs did not contain bank details, a DWP spokesman told BBC News.
Sure, the CDs have been returned, but nobody knows exactly whether the information has already gone into criminal hands or not ,or if the affected Britons are in danger. "Although there is no indication that any customers' data was compromised by this incident, we are investigating and will ensure the safe return of the information," a DWP representative said for the same source.
This new report comes after a few weeks since the HMRC has confirmed that the two CDs contained private information of about 25 million people. Although this was caused by employees' negligence, it proved us that our data is not secure wherever it is.
And here's my final word for the woman who forgot to return the discs: my mommy has always said that it's more polite to return the things I borrow as soon as I can, and not keep them for a long period of time.