UK Gov Admits to Losing More Data: There’s No Justice is there?

Posted by Strangely Freedom, Technology Add comments

Aug 182008

The latest in the long-running sage that the British Government is trying to spell out called:

Why We Will Win The “We Are the Best People to Put All Your Information in an ID Card and Lose It” Competition.

http://www.itworld.com/security/54342/uk-justice-agency-loses-45000-personal-records goes the story. In a FOI release the Department of Justice has said it’s lost tons of data by various methods. A good way was the simple method of sticking it, unencrypted, onto CDs – and then losing them.

Read the whole article. The weasel double-speak, “committed to ensuring that information is shared in a safe and secure way“, is laughable.

I really don’t know why the high-tech criminals go about the laborious procedure of sending spam, setting up botnets, infecting PCs, key-logging the PCs for personal details, hacking government computers, posing as repairmen to hijack equipment, etc etc etc. and all the other tricks they do.

All they have to do is hang around government offices and the stuff will come flying from the windows like silver frisbees. Sit in public parks and wait for laptops to be left. Check a few roundabouts for discs. Get in a taxi and check the back seat. Watch the letterbox and something might just pop through from TNT.

It’s just pathetic.

However, this site here, The coming of Global Communism, has an interesting take on the data losses. He says this about the continuing rash of data loss stories and the government’s wishes for centralized data storage (I quote):

The goal of these stories is to gradually convince the masses that without a large database to store all this data, continual security breaches and data losses will be ongoing

He also reckons that such a thing already exists.

I think,

that there is a lot of connectivity but nowhere near that suspected by “Man” or like that presented in “Spooks” on TV.
that if it does exist, then a lot of incompetent people are using it or ignoring it (e.g. the London 7/7 bombers were known about for ages but left alone by our security services). They also shot the Brazilian then as well…
that even with a centralized store, people will still pull data from it for “custom reasons”. Most of the people doing this are simple clerks anyway. I’ve watched many at work on my software – it’s my job – they’re impatient and “click happy”.
I’m willing to be proved wrong though.

The thing is that this continuing ferago isn’t even worth parodying any longer. Most comics and satirists just hit on the old standards because most people don’t care. All they want is a quiet life with enough money for a few holidays each year. They’re not bothered by international conflict or anything like that as long as they can put petrol in the tank and have a shag.