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GRAH to this. Just... LOST? I mean, I lose things sometimes, but I don't, er, keep data on millions of people somewhere that I'm going to lose it easily.
Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs use TNT for their internal post? When I was doing office work we stopped using TNT because they were so crap.
Also, all these reassurances about not being able to use your name, address and bank account details to get money out of your account? Nonsense. Set up a 'charity', write lots of direct debit forms with £2/month on them, sign them in the sort of scrawl that people usually use for this sort of shit when they're standing in the high street trying to get rid of a chugger. If you did it gradually and through a few different names with plenty of accomplices, it probably wouldn't attract much attention, even with the banks being extra-careful about such things. If I can think of that in 20 seconds, someone who knows banking and money systems better than I do (your typical fraudster probably does) should be able to think up some more schemes.
I hope those passwords are good ones, but I fear they aren't. Why should I think they are? HMRC have proven themselves to be incompetent twats. Also it says the discs are password-protected but if it turns out it is the files instead, and the files are in something stupid like, oh, a typical overbloated well-known database program? Probably piss easy to get into them.
In Darling's statement he mentions that ID cards would make this better, would make information less vulnerable. NO.
Fraud is an arms race between perpetrators and law enforcers. Any technological "fix" is going to be worthless in about five years, maybe less if people have a particularly high incentive to crack it. To prevent fraud, systemic social changes are needed, not technological ones.
ADDENDUM:
Shevek's point about the irony of the fact that they only even noticed there was a problem because they are using physical medium (a CD) is a very good one, too.
Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs use TNT for their internal post? When I was doing office work we stopped using TNT because they were so crap.
Also, all these reassurances about not being able to use your name, address and bank account details to get money out of your account? Nonsense. Set up a 'charity', write lots of direct debit forms with £2/month on them, sign them in the sort of scrawl that people usually use for this sort of shit when they're standing in the high street trying to get rid of a chugger. If you did it gradually and through a few different names with plenty of accomplices, it probably wouldn't attract much attention, even with the banks being extra-careful about such things. If I can think of that in 20 seconds, someone who knows banking and money systems better than I do (your typical fraudster probably does) should be able to think up some more schemes.
I hope those passwords are good ones, but I fear they aren't. Why should I think they are? HMRC have proven themselves to be incompetent twats. Also it says the discs are password-protected but if it turns out it is the files instead, and the files are in something stupid like, oh, a typical overbloated well-known database program? Probably piss easy to get into them.
In Darling's statement he mentions that ID cards would make this better, would make information less vulnerable. NO.
Fraud is an arms race between perpetrators and law enforcers. Any technological "fix" is going to be worthless in about five years, maybe less if people have a particularly high incentive to crack it. To prevent fraud, systemic social changes are needed, not technological ones.
ADDENDUM:
Shevek's point about the irony of the fact that they only even noticed there was a problem because they are using physical medium (a CD) is a very good one, too.
