Criminal Negligence

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PA Consulting Group might want to reconsider this slogan.

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

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

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.

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.

I was just thinking about the gravy train I've alluded to in the past and then I read on. Guess what? I wasn't the only one to think laterally.

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."

So much for the tougher data laws.

Looking forward to Jacqui Spliff's views on this latest debacle, because someone has certainly lost their memory.

Update: Nice try at a body swerve Ms Teflon, but it is still your Department's responsibility to secure the data and physically prevent anyone downloading/transferring it against protocols. If it has been transferred as suggested, will she be prosecuting? Let's see.

© Noddy
Published by Toy Town™ Times