Its all in the database!
Bit of an “own goal” really… certainly won’t help the Government’s campaign to introduce compulsory ID cards…
Benefit data discs held for year - Yahoo News UK
And we really want to trust the Government to safely and securely implement/maintain a National ID Card scheme?…
Benefit data discs held for year - Yahoo News UK
The Conservatives have branded a report that an ex-contractor at the DWP had two discs with thousands of benefit claimants details for more than a year “disturbing”.
publicitéThe News of the World reports that two discs were found at the home of a former contractor to the Department for Work and Pensions.The worker discovered that she had inadvertently forgotten to return the discs when her work with the DWP finished - and expressed her surprise that no one had checked that she had done so.
The two new missing discs reveal what kind of benefits the people receive. The data on the discs can be accessed by any standard computer and is not encrypted or protected by a password.
The blunder comes days after the Government was forced to admit it had lost the personal details of more than 25 million people in the post.
That crisis was sparked when a junior official at HM Revenue & Customs official in Tyne and Wear sent two unencrypted CDs containing details of child benefit claimants by courier to the National Audit office in London. The discs were not recorded or registered.
Shadow work and pensions secretary Chris Grayling said of the latest blunder: “This is an exceptionally disturbing new development involving highly sensitive personal information.
“The fact that it hasnt been copy protected is further evidence of a cavalier attitude towards data protection in Government departments. Ministers need to explain urgently how they are going to put things right.”
On Saturday it emerged confidential information on millions of investors is regularly being sent through the post to HM Revenue and Customs without proper security.
Investment managers in the City are required to mail personal data on their clients to HMRC on unencrypted computer discs despite the recent outcry.
Bedfordshire rejects National ID Cards
Just returned from watching a County Council meeting. By a resounding majority (31-3 I believe) Bedfordshire County Council voted in favour of the following…
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“1. This Council, in the name of the privacy of each individual,
rejects the uncontrolled collection and storing of data relevant to
identity.
Without control this data is currently being collected by stealth.
Examples of such data collection are:-
- DNA recorded at birth by NHS
- Finger printing of children in schools
- Recording of diet by questioning children in schools
- Supermarket analysis of purchases by credit card
Whilst apparently harmless and well intentioned separately, a
combination of these records by computer is much simpler and easier
than the initial data collection. This data could lead to significant
loss of privacy if compounded.
New privacy laws that control data collection and use when referring
to individuals are demanded.
2. The Council acordingly resolves to:
a) Take no part in any pilot scheme or feasibility work in relation to
the introduction of the national identity cards, based upon current
Government proposals for such a scheme, or unless specifically
required to by law.
b) Make it a policy of the Council to ensure that national identity
cards will not be required to access Council services or benefits
unless specifically required to do so by law.
c) Oppose the introduction of national identity cards and will write
to the Home Secretary to inform him of Council policy.
d) Take no part in the national database unless required to do so by
law and protect our residents data to the best of our ability.”
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This was an amendment to an original motion proposed by LibDem Councillor Susan Gaszczak in December last.
If this is indicative of the county’s population as a whole, and that in turn is simply a microcosm of the country, then it amply confirms what I’ve long believed - that the Government are trying to force ID cards upon us against the wishes of the majority.
10,000 passports obtained by fraud
10,000 passports obtained by fraud - Yahoo News UK
An estimated 10,000 British passports were issued to fraudulent applicants last year, new figures have shown.Home Office minister Joan Ryan revealed that the Identity and Passport Service IPS received 16,500 fraudulent applications between October 2005 to September last year.
In a written ministerial statement, she said “almost half” of those were stopped by existing safeguards but the remainder went undetected.
She said: “Our current estimate is therefore that the level of undetected fraud is about 0.5%, equivalent to 10,000 applications against the planned 6.6 million passports issued per year.”
The announcement came on the day the IPS revealed details of a new project to reduce fraud.
From May, first-time adult applications will be forced to attend passport offices for face-to-face interviews.
Tuesdays fraud figures were based on a sample of several thousand applications and is believed to be the most accurate estimate so far of the extent of passport fraud.
Ms Ryan said: “Although precise figures are difficult to obtain, it appears that the level of attempted fraud is increasing and getting more sophisticated.
“Analysis of the frauds shows that the main fraud threat is from first-time adult applications, followed by first-time child applications.”
The interview process will begin “modestly” in May and will be rolled out across Britain throughout the year, the minister added.
Strikes me this happens to be a very convenient time for such an announcement - convenient cos it could be perceived in certain quarters that such frauds reinforce the case for the introduction of a national ID card.
In other words, something handy for the mainstream media to pick up on and lend support to Tony Blair’s ID card policy.
The Home Office Strategic Action Plan for their National Identity Scheme
Sam Smith, a volunteer for mySociety , has published a version of the Home Office’s :”Strategic Action Plan for the National Identity Scheme Safeguarding your identity” (.pdf 26 pages)
in web page format which allows for links and comments on each of the paragraphs
See:
http://www.commentonthis.com/idaction/
Just because the Labour government spin doctors tried to bury this report by publishing it literally just before Parliament rose for the Christmas recess, does not mean that opponents of this particular ID scheme should be idle over the holidays.
Opposing ID Cards
Bedford joins the growing opposition to the introduction of compulsory ID cards in the UK with the launch of its own anti-ID group, BedfordDenyID.
Its inaugural meeting was held at the Phoenix pub in Bedford town centre Wednesday evening, 13th December, and hopefully it will be holding monthly public meetings at the same venue - all are welcome.
Resulting from that meeting a mailing list and website have already been set up, which can be checked out at BedfordDenyID.
The folk present at this first meeting acknowledged the differences that have arisen between the two existing anti-ID networks, Defy-ID and No2ID, and expressed a unanimous opinion that such differences should - if opposition to the introduction of ID cards is to have any hope at all of success - be put aside and both camps should unite to achieve their common objective.
Therefore, the Bedford group hope to do just this, and attract members from both camps.
