I was just reading an article from BBC News and it said that the government currently can't be held responsible for any data protection breaches. So in other words if that data is lost the government isn't penalized for it. And this is dangerous as the people's information is very important, and since there are no laws protecting them, if there is a problem the gov't won't be pressured to do something about it.

HM Revenue and Customs already lost important data from people and thus the possibly effected families were alerted to be on the lookout for fraudulent activity.

Laws need to be passed to pressure the gov't to work harder to prevent this, and if it does happen, they will have to face the consequences, which at the moment none exist.

You can read the article HERE

It's remarkable how long these boys have gotten away with it. They need a good kick up the ass to get them in line and it looks like they just got it. It is unbelievable that they cannot be held accountable if that is correct. With greater reliance on databases within government administration, would you have thought these plonkers would have had measures and best practices already in place to prevent such occurrences?

Yep, and ID theft is no joke. They should really ensure that the information stays confidential and safe.

A while ago a relative of mine was getting unauthorized charges on their credit card. First it was $30 fee membership for some premium e-mail account, so they called up the company and reported it. The charge was removed, then the next month another charge for something else came up. That's when the person called again asking to get their credit card # changed due to security reasons. They didn't lose the card, so either they accidentally typed the credit card in a fraudulent website or a company messed up and got their info leaked. They never explained to them how exactly those charges occurred but luckily they did refund the money.

It could have easily been a careless business who didn't dispose a receipt properly or even a larger "trusted" organization who did a careless act and resulted in that problem for my relative.

Did you see this story?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7174760.stm

This great sanctimonious lump poo-pooed the idea that having your bank details fall in to the wrong hand cannot lead to money coming out of your account - at worst, he scoffed, people could pay money in. He was so full of himself, he published his bank details in a British daily newspaper. Soon after, money started leaving his account...