Media attention has recently centred on an enormous mistake on the part of the UK’s Revenue and Customs, who lost some computer disks containing the national child benefit database. This database stores personal information, such as bank account details, for millions of people in Britain. The disks have not yet been located and it is possible that they could fall into the hands of criminals.
Closer to home, according to the Irish Times, both Quinn Direct and AIB have breached Data Protection of late. The insurer apparently sent letters, containing personal information, to the wrong customers. The bank, on the other hand, sent notifications, other customers’ bank details, to 11,000 customers.
Large institutions and particularly government departments should not be making these kinds of mistakes. It is alarming that so little regard is paid to data protection. All staff who deal with people’s personal information should be trained in the Data Protection Act and how to keep their clients’ data safe and secure.
