Personal child benefit details of 25m people have gone missing
Rushda:
November 22nd, 2007
Yesterday it was announced that two CDs containing the “confidential details of 25 million child benefit recipients” had been lost by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). These discs hold data such as the names, addresses, dates of birth, and even bank details of every family who has a child under the age of 16 in the UK. The news has understandably alarmed millions of families, with many panicking and distressed over what will happen to their personal details. The loss marks a huge let-down by the government for incompetency - failing to protect parents and children against serious dangers such as identity fraud.
In an emergency statement 10 days after the discovery of the loss, Chancellor Alistair Darling consoled the public by saying that it is not yet clear what has happened to the missing records, but there was no evidence the data had got into the wrong hands. This must, however, have offered little comfort when he explained that:
“The missing information contains details of all Child Benefit recipients: records for 25 million individuals and 7.25 million families.”
Darling explained that certain serious mistakes were made by junior officials at HMRC who sent off the discs to the National Audit Office without adhering to strict security procedures. Apparently, the data on the discs was not even sent by any form of recorded or registered delivery post, let alone properly encrypted on the CDs themselves. However, Darling insists that no one will suffer as a result of these failings as there are strong measures in place that will not allow anyone to suffer any financial loss. Banks and authorities have been alerted, although everyone should still make sure they check their bank accounts regularly “for any unusual activity.”
I really don’t understand how the government can tell us all not to panic. They insist that the data hasn’t fallen into the wrong hands and yet have no idea where it is! It’s staggering to think that so much personal data is even at risk, let alone actually lost. There are so many questions about the issue that even if the data is retrieved now (and I sincerely hope it is soon), this has still put a huge blot on the public confidence with the government. It will be tricky winning their trust again, especially with the plans to introduce further risky systems such as identity cards.
For those who are concerned, an advice line has been set up by the HMRC on 0845 302 1444.