Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

UK: 25m child benefit records lost

edesignuk said:
It's not the Ministers fault this happened, he didn't do it, but the fact is the ability for this to even happen shouldn't have been there, and that does fall down to him.
Click to expand...

Indeed it is probably not this ministers fault… who was Chancellor before Darling, when the system was apparently "reviewed" some months ago?

Hmmmm… 🙄😉
 
scotthayes said:
Again, people are assuming that the day has gotten into the hands of criminals and they have broken (although doubt it would take long) the passwords and encryption on the disks.
Click to expand...

Disks weren't even encrypted. Just plaintext database files with a password slapped on top. Probably something like "NAOfiles".

All a tealeaf has to do is plug in his babymamma's name and ni number and address as an example of plaintext and that password will be broken by the time he's finished his cuppa of tea.
 
scotthayes said:
of course, everyone is working on the assumption that the discs were stolen and are now in the hands of some evil criminal mastermind and not just lost by good old TNT.
Click to expand...
Apple use TNT don't they? ....ION, these damn Leopard disks won't load...

edesignuk said:
...Any government, from which ever party and which ever nation are all just incompetent.

It's not the Ministers fault this happened, he didn't do it, but the fact is the ability for this to even happen shouldn't have been there, and that does fall down to him.
Click to expand...
Agreed, but it's not just any government, party or nation, it's anybody. We're all as likely to f*ck up at some point.

It is down to the Minister to take responsibility for the f*ck-up, but I don't think that means just resign, unless it was his fault, in which case he needs firing not resigning.

What he needs to do is take charge and make sure that this sort of thing can't happen, systems should be in place that mean no one person can do anything incompetently enough that it goes without a double check.
 
Of course, this would never have happened had they just gotten rid of the much abused child benefit system in the first place. 😉
 
scotthayes said:
of course, everyone is working on the assumption that the discs were stolen and are now in the hands of some evil criminal mastermind and not just lost by good old TNT.
Click to expand...
Indeed, it's most likely they're unopened in someone's in-tray or have slipped down the back of a post rack or something. But I don't think the fact that they're probably not in the wrong hands excuses treating such important information in such a shoddy manner.
 
scotthayes said:
Yes the parents have reason to be concerned, but not kids.
Click to expand...

I take it you don't know anyone that has had their kids info released? Even without such major error ever happening, one of my best friends spent about 10 years (from 18-28) sorting out errors that the government and others made in applying parental credit issues to him. Here, if the data is in the wrong hands, in a few years you may see plenty of future adults trying to sort thing because of this.

Jaffa Cake said:
Indeed, it's most likely they're unopened in someone's in-tray or have slipped down the back of a post rack or something. But I don't think the fact that they're probably not in the wrong hands excuses treating such important information in such a shoddy manner.
Click to expand...

Hopefully that is all that has happened. Anything more serious, and I pass on my forgiveness if you choose to do something rash. 😉

All it took was this, and I'm beginning to waffle away from universal health care for all and just keeping true universal health care for children (i.e. just provide a name and the kid gets care). After spending a week working with a Medicare partner, I was beginning to think that the government couldn't be worse than having to deal with insurance agents. I may have been wrong. At least the partner did a solid job of managing private data...
 
What I was meaning was that people are going to be upset enough if their own personal details could potentially end up in the hands of ner' do wells as a result of incompetence, but I think people are going to be even more furious if it's their children who are put in this position too – what with parents generally tending to be quite protective of their kids and stuff.
 
More disks have gone missing it appears, in this instance records of conversations between HMRC staff and a complainant. They went missing going through the same internal mail system that lost the two data CDs in October.

I wonder if TNT will retain that contract when it comes up for tender again?
 
Well, our letter of apology arrived today...

I am writing to make a personal apology. A copy of some HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) data about families, including yours, who have received Child Benefit has been lost. The copy of the data is likely to still be on Government property. The police are now conducting a search, and there is no evidence that it is in the possession of anyone else. This will not affect your Child Benefit payments.

This data includes your and your children’s names and dates of birth, your address, your National Insurance number and, where relevant, the details of the bank or building society account into which your Child Benefit is or was paid.

~gubbins about what to do if large sums of money disappear from your bank account.~

I would like to offer my personal apologies for any worry or concern this data loss may cause you. And I can assure you that all efforts are being made to ensure that such a loss can never happen again.

Acting Chairman
Dave Hartnett

Cheers Dave. 🙄
 
Jaffa Cake said:
Well, our letter of apology arrived today...
Click to expand...

I think yours was sent via TNT, as mine arrived about a week ago. Took one look and threw it away. Fools.

This has given us the impetus to re-arrange our bank accounts so that we have an account just for paying benefits into (and other goverment stuff), as 6 gets you 9 they'll cock up again. Need to reduce the damage.

Did you see the banks are now asking Brown / Darling to pay for ANY losses as a result of this?!
 
dynamicv said:
Out of their own pockets or out of ours?

Don't worry, already know the answer 😡
Click to expand...

They'll just add it to the bill. We're already paying for Northern Rock, and no doubt some bright spark will make the kerfuffle over donations into a case for state funding.

What's a couple of billion more?

Tw@s
 
dynamicv said:
*Channel Islands excepted.

Lucky bugger 😛
Click to expand...
Well being outside the EU and the reach of the UK tax regime isn't all bad...

The Guardian said:
The inquiries will centre on the bank's unusual structure. For while Northern Rock appeared to be a uncomplicated mortgage lender employing thousands of people in the north of England, three-quarters of its key assets are owned by a Jersey-based offshore trust called Granite.
Click to expand...

Next thing you'll see is the Treasury wanting some of the £71bn in that trust just to pay back the loan... greedy buggers!😉
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back