Government 'complacent' about data

The HM Revenue and Customs' loss of disks containing personal details of 25 million people comes three weeks after the Government was accused of complacency over data security.

On October 30, a Lords Science and Technology subcommittee issued a statement saying it was " disappointed" by the Government's response to its report, Personal Internet Security, which covered measures such as encryption that would have made unauthorised access to the lost data virtually impossible.

Committee member Lord Erroll said the "Government dismissed every recommendation out of hand, and their approach seems to solely consist of putting their head in the sand”.

Some of the responses from Home Secretary Jacqui Smith now make embarrassing reading for the Government.

One of the committee's recommendations, referring to businesses but with clear parallels to the HMRC breach, read: "The steps currently being taken by many businesses trading over the internet to protect their customer’s personal information are inadequate. The refusal of the financial services sector in particular to accept responsibility for the security of personal information is disturbing, and is compounded by apparent indifference at Government level."

The committee said the Government should provide incentives "to persuade businesses to take the necessary steps to act proportionately to protect data".

The Home Secretary, in a written response, said the Government did not accept that the loss of personal data was on the increase. She added, almost inviting the current furore: "The Government believes that the market incentives provided by the impact of adverse publicity surrounding breaches of security are powerful drivers to apply appropriate protection."

Another recommendation from the committee was that "the Government examine as a matter of urgency the effectiveness of the Information Commissioner’s Office in enforcing good standards of data protection across the business community".

The Home Secretary replied that the Government believed "the current enforcement regime for data protection is fit for purpose".

Lord Errol said today that issues covered by the report were highly relevant the HMRC breach. He said: "The principles are the same - however, the personal information is lost. Also, something like this can be the precursor to internet fraud."

Comment: Security paramount on internet or sneaker net

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