By Nick Heath, 29 February 2008 16:12
NEWS
Scores of "data guardians" have been employed to protect HM Revenue & Customs from a repeat of the child benefit data scandal.
HMRC has appointed 37 guardians to monitor data handling and transfer, financial secretary to the Treasury, Jane Kennedy, told parliament.
The guardians' role protecting HMRC's data was previously performed by just one man, the chairman of the HMRC. It was on former chairman Paul Gray's watch that the department lost the two CDs containing the details of 25 million people last October.
Kennedy said in a written answer that "departmental security specialists" helped to train the guardians using "written material" and "awareness events".
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HMRC had sought advice on the "competencies, experience and knowledge that the role would require", she said. Ongoing training of the guardians is being funded by the HMRC.
A string of revelations about lost government data followed the HMRC data breach, including the NHS losing hundreds of thousands of patients' records, the DVLA losing three million learner drivers' details and the MoD losing hundreds of laptops.
A Whitehall-wide ban on the movement of unencrypted data was imposed in the wake of the MoD losses.
More recently, silicon.com won a significant victory in its Full Disclosure campaign to make government toughen its data protection legislation and improve the reporting of security breaches.
Comments
There are 6 comments. Join the discussion
1. Malcolm Niven
And will these people be accountable next time things go horribly wrong?
2. Karen Challinor
*gasp* employing people instead of looking for a technological "buy & forget" solution ?
who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks ?
3. anonymous
More "Know Nothing" "Yes Men/Women" keeping a watch over something they know nothing about! "Do you want to speak to the Manager" ?........ No thanks, I want to speak to someone who knows what they are talking about !"..........
4. Chris Goodman
So the HMRC is funding the training of these "Guardians (LOL)".
I disagree - the taxpayer is funding it!!
The taxpayer funds all those incompetent unsackables and everything they do right up to their early retirement and then their golden pensions and gratuities.
5. Guy Reynolds
Ok 37 people is mre than one person, but just how are 37 people going to monitor hundreds if not thousands of people, if the HMRC does not have the technology to prevent people copying data on to CDs or at least flag if somebody is attempting to do so?
This is just a white wash job, tell the people we are doing something hand hope that people don't realise that it is ineffective and hope that we don't mess up again.
6. Simon Allen
QUOTE:
The guardians' role protecting HMRC's data was previously ...
THERE is the problem in one!! They refer to it as 'HMRCs data' and it isn't. Just like Terry's Chocolate Orange, it's OUR data.
Until they change their mindset from it being 'theirs' to do with as they wish, to being 'ours' that they can only do as we wish - nothing will change.