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Wednesday, December 17, 2008

How much of your personal data has been lost?

You hand over your personal details to councils, hospitals, employers and businesses all the time. But these institutions don't always keep that data safe. In fact, since HMRC lost its entire database of child benefit claimants in the post last year, not a week goes by without another high profile data loss hitting the headlines. But how does this affect you and your family? Take the questionnaire to find out here.

It really is very scary.

Hat Tip: Alix Mortimer
Comments:
This is absolutely shocking!

I answered all the questions and I was told:

"Your data could have been lost 0 times, and has certainly been lost 0 times. In total, across all incidents your personal data may have been involved in, 0 items of people's data was lost."

So what point were trying to make by running this useless exercise Mr Black?
 
It is not my exercise I only linked to it. I also got zero but the point is that those whose data has been lost include some very vulnerable people. The exercise demonstrates how unsafe our data is.
 
As a recital of many of the failures to safeguard personal data, it makes a point.

However, just because you score zero it doesn't mean you are safe. If you are a licensed driver, have registered a vehicle or pay income tax, there is no reason to believe that your details are not at risk.

By the way, I scored one for being a former customer of the Nationwide.
 
Surprising how much information is on 192.com

Peter, I didn't know your wifes middle name was Lynette!
 
Anonymous - I hope you're not the person whose tax details I was sent earlier this year - along with their Child Tax Credit information and their full bank account details.

That was from the Inland Revenue.
 
It is absolutely shocking and quite frankly frightening. But, Peter, what would the Liberal Democrats do to solve this endemic problem of data loss?

More and more data is being held electronically and that, im afraid, is not going to stop - or indeed be reversed. So what is the solution?
 
There is no easy solution but I think that it would help if proper procedures were in place. I also believe that it would help if the government do not create disasters waiting to happen such as a National ID Database and joining up existing databases.
 
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