One UK official disciplined over data loss every day

By Staff
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Google Oneindia News

London, Nov.4 : A public official is sacked or reprimanded virtually every single working day for losing data or breaching protection rules, official figures show. According to The Telegraph, parliamentary answers from three Government Departments reveal that up to 260 officials were disciplined or dismissed "for alleged breaches of data protection requirements and inappropriate use of personal or sensitive data" in the past year.

Most of the people - 192 - were disciplined or dismissed at HM Revenue and Customs, which last November admitted losing personal details of 25 million people from the child benefit database.

As many as 45 officials could have been disciplined for data protection and personal information breaches at the Home Office agencies including 15 from the Identity and Passport Service in the year to the end of March.

Another 20 civil servants were disciplined at agencies run by the Department for Work and Pensions in the 12 months to the end of March.

James Brokenshire, the Tories' home affairs spokesman, said: "It's disturbing that so many Home Office officials have been sacked or reprimanded for data protection breaches.

"It underlines why plans for a national ID register and a new huge central database of phone and email details are flawed and fraught with such risk and danger," he added. A Home Office spokesman said: "The Home Office and all of its Agencies take data security very seriously. Procedures are in place to prevent inappropriate use of our systems and we take action against those who do."

ANI

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