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The breakdown in procedures by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs that led to the loss of 25 million personal records, including names, addresses, national insurance numbers and bank account numbers, is a warning of what can happen.
Two discs containing the sensitive information about all adults and children in the child benefit system have been lost. The Chancellor of the Exchequer has admitted the lapse was catastrophic, unprecedented and unforgivable.
Although there is not yet cause for alarm, the information could fall into criminal hands and create the possibility of fraud on an enormous scale.
Voluntary and community organisations do not hold the vast records that HMRC is responsible for but many have personal details of clients, donors or other stakeholders.
That means they must comply with the Data Protection Act but the government’s huge lapse is a warning to all organisations that they should review their security policies and procedures.
This covers many issues, such as how and where data is stored, who is responsible for putting information on the database, who can download it, what safeguards exist and so on.
The Information Commissioner’s Office has guidance for organisations on: http://www.ico.gov.uk/for_organisations.aspx.
The ICT Hub has some good introductory advice on data protection policies and security issues:
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Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action is registered as a company limited by guarantee in Northern Ireland (No 1792) and is registered as a charity for tax purposes with the Inland Revenue