Yet Another Disgraceful Example Of Data Loss By Councils

[Alison J Stevens]

Yet Another Disgraceful Example Of Data Loss By Councils

Over at the UK ICO, a press release that should send a shiver up the
spine of any resident of the following areas (and probably the rest of
us too, given the slack behaviour it suggests): Over 9,000 child
details put at risk by councils The Information Commissioner’s Office
(ICO) has taken action against the London Borough of Barnet, West
Sussex County Council and Buckinghamshire County Council for breaching
the Data Protection Act. A systemic lack of staff training on how to
handle personal information has led to the loss of sensitive personal
information relating to thousands of children. Children are entitled to
privacy just like adults: these authorities have had scant regard for
the safety of their private information. Residents with children must
be wondering – What else has been lost by these councils? Remember of
course that national government is just as bad as local government – in
2006 the DWP lost the entire child benefit database, conta ining the
very private details of some 25 million people.



Value-Data protection.