Lost Data A Worldwide Affair

By Mark Brousseau

If you think the challenges associated with securing sensitive data are confined to the United States, think again. The International Herald Tribune reports that Britain’s tax and customs service lost banking and personal data of 25 million people – nearly half the country’s population – when two computer disks went missing in the mail in November 2007.

The disks were sent to a government audit office through an internal postal service and weren’t tracked. They were missing for three weeks before the loss was reported. The disks contained details of more than 7 million families in Britain who claim a child benefit – a tax-free monthly payment available to everyone with children. The information on the disks included parents’ and children’s names, along with addresses, dates of birth, national insurance numbers and banking details. What do you think? E-mail me at m_brousseau@msn.com.