Taxi Driver Online

Council apologises after licensing data is lost



A council has suspended its work with a contractor responsible for the potential loss of data relating to nearly 3,000 people.

Suffolk Coastal District Council announced today that a laptop computer was stolen from the home of somebody working for local authority licensing company Lalpac last week.

Although the computer was password protected, the information - which related to the council's licensing team - was not encrypted and so could potentially be accessed by an unauthorised person.

A council spokesman said that the data relates to applications submitted by companies and members of the public for licences covering areas such as pubs, taxi and private hire vehicles, places of entertainment or for festivals and fetes.

The lost data does not include any financial information and most of the details are publicly available on the council's website, but the lost records include names and addresses of applicants.

Ray Herring, leader of Suffolk Coastal District Council, said: “The company was employed by us to transfer this data onto a new software programme that we are using but this information is now potentially lost.

“The company has failed to prevent this data being taken home in an unprotected way and the theft of the laptop means that this information has been lost.

“We have instructed the company to stop the work they were doing for us and we are investigating what further action we could take against them for this lapse of security.

“We had followed all the rules but we have to face the criticism caused by someone else's actions. I can only offer sincere apologies to those affected and reassure everyone that we will redouble our efforts to ensure that data in future is dealt with in as secure a fashion as possible.”

A letter has been sent to all the people affected explaining what has happened and their details have been passed on to CIFAS, the UK's fraud prevention service. The Information Commissioner has also been advised of the data loss.

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

Ahhh....they say sorry....so thats okay.

CC

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

They didn't say it was ok just because they have apologised and they have sacked the offending company

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Note to self: Just because it pops into my head does NOT mean it should come out of my mouth!!

They outsourced.....probably sacked the poor bloke who used to use the council shredder on a health and safety issue (paper cuts) .....and then sold the shredder

CC

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

Ffs I wish you'd just speak regular and not in riddles

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Note to self: Just because it pops into my head does NOT mean it should come out of my mouth!!

Well, it made sense to me

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Life? Don't talk to me about life!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjm2eslm6hI

Good then you can explain to me exactly what the bloke with the shredder has got to do with all this

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Note to self: Just because it pops into my head does NOT mean it should come out of my mouth!!

After using the data, the council will shred all the documents. The subcontractor should have done the same but clearly didn't.

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Grandad,

Oh well I'll just put it down to a 'blonde moment'

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Note to self: Just because it pops into my head does NOT mean it should come out of my mouth!!

Have you ever considered changing your hair colour? Jet black may be good.

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Grandad,

My hair is very dark as it is that is why I have 'blonde moments'. I had a colleague who had dyed her hair blonde and it quite suited her intelligence, anyway later she dyed it back to dark hair and I said that 'just because you dye your hair dark it doesn't make you intelligent'. Needless to say she didn't speak to me again, can't figure out why though

_________________
Note to self: Just because it pops into my head does NOT mean it should come out of my mouth!!

Concern over missing personal data

http://www.eveningstar.co.uk/content/eveningstar/news/story.aspx?brand=ESTOnline&category=News&tBrand=ESTOnline&tCategory=xDefault&itemid=IPED27%20Mar%202009%2016%3A50%3A03%3A800


STOLEN data relating to 3,000 people in the Suffolk Coastal area has today still not been recovered - and it could mean a year of worry for those affected.

The biggest concern is identity theft and fraud, with a thief using people's names and home addresses to obtain credit or goods.

Council chiefs say this is a possible but “low risk”, and the laptop - stolen from the home of a council IT contractor - is password protected, though not encrypted. It does not contain any bank details or financial information.

The computer contains details of people who have taken part in licensing applications handled by Suffolk Coastal, including pubs, places of entertainment, taxi and private hire vehicles, or for festivals and fetes.

Ivy Cleary, of York Road, Felixstowe, who is on the database because she objected to the grant of a licence for the new Café Bencotto in the town centre, said: “I received the letter from the council and I couldn't think why I would be on their database - in fact, I didn't even know what a database was!

“It's very worrying to think someone has got your details and could use them. I have been in touch with my bank just in case.”

In a letter sent to everyone on the missing database, Hilary Slater, council head of legal and democratic services, apologised for any inconvenience and worry people might be caused.

“If the information is accessed, there is a possible risk that the details could be used for identity fraud,” she said.

She said if a thief had not used the information to commit fraud in a year, then it is highly unlikely it will ever be used.

The laptop was stolen from the home of an employee of Lalpac Ltd, a contractor transferring data on to a new software programme.

Suffolk Coastal leader Ray Herring said: “We have instructed the company to stop the work they were doing for us and we are investigating what further action we could take against them for this lapse of security.

“We had followed all the rules but we have to face the criticism caused by someone else's actions. I can only offer sincere apologies to those affected and reassure everyone that we will redouble our efforts to ensure that data in future is dealt with in as secure a fashion as possible.”

A council spokeswoman said further talks are taking place with Lalpac but it is too early to say what the outcome and the future of the authority's relationship with Lalpac will be.

Panel:

FAMILIES and companies whose names are on the missing database could in future face stricter and more thorough checking when seeking credit or buying goods.

Names and addresses of everyone involved have been registered with the CIFAS Protective Registration Scheme.

This means if someone tries to use the names to obtain credit or services, it will flag up a warning that the person's identity has been stolen. If a fraud is committed, CIFAS works closely with the police to catch the criminals.

It will not stop the affected people from obtaining credit or goods - such as loans, credit cards, or insurance - but they will face much more thorough security vetting before their applications are accepted.

Panel: Data problems

More than 15,000 Standard Life customers were put at risk of fraud after a courier lost a computer disk containing personal information, including national insurance numbers, dates of birth and pension data.

A laptop computer holding sensitive information was stolen from the boot of a car belonging to an HM Revenue and Customs worker, putting hundreds of people at risk of fraud.

There was a major scandal after discs containing personal details of 25 million people were lost by HM Revenue and Customs.

Details of almost 900,000 calls to the Scottish Ambulance Service went missing after a courier firm lost a disc.

Names, addresses and phone numbers of three million candidates for the driving theory test were lost in another incident.

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

Would I be legally covered if I ignore a begging letter in July stamped HM revenue you never know it could be a hoax