U.K. Breach Puts 25M at Risk of ID Theft
Updated: A major police investigation reportedly has been launched in Britain after the government’s entire database concerning every child in the country for whom benefits have been paid was lost in the mail. Some 25 million individuals are now at risk of identity theft, due to the loss.
The database, which includes “names, addresses, birth dates, national insurance numbers and bank account details of every child benefit claimant in the country,” was contained on two CDs that were mailed by a junior government employee of the HM Revenue & Customs office in Tyne & Wear about a month ago, reports the London Times.
Chancellor Alistair Darling said the database should never have left the government’s office, let alone have been mailed. While there is currently no evidence of criminal activity related to the lost database, the newspaper article states, “(t)he catastrophic breach of personal security led to the resignation of Paul Gray, the chairman of HMRC, and called into question the Government’s competence, especially its ability to manage an ID card system in the future.”
The government has apologized and promised enhanced efforts to secure sensitive personal data, another Times article notes. It provides additional details about what the newspaper terms a “data protection fiasco.”
A separate Times editorial also discusses the situation in scathing terms. (Among them: “Utter, unbelievable, jaw-dropping, unpardonable idiots.”)
New York Times: “Data Leak in Britain Affects 25 Million.”
(Updated at 3:30 p.m., central time.)
