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Fuzzy Logic Is the UK’s Ministry of Defence really the Ministry of Data Loss?
Fuzzy Logic Is the UK’s Ministry of Defence really the Ministry of Data Loss? | Is the UK’s Ministry of Defence really the Ministry of Data Loss? |
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| by Alex Zaharov-Reutt | |
| Monday, 13 October 2008 | |
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Although seeing as I’m a particularly cynical mood, the terms “Ministry of Dumbkopfs”, “Ministry of Dumbasses” and “Ministry of Doofuses” also come readily to mind. Computerworld UK has the details of an unencrypted portable hard drive that contains the “personal details of 100,000 military personnel and “up to” 600,000 potential recruits”. What is it with the United Kingdom and data loss? It seems they can’t help themselves when it comes to accidents that can affect the real – and digital lives – of hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people. Computerworld UK says that EDS (the IT outfit that is merging with HP) discovered the missing drive “during an audit that was ordered by the Cabinet Office as part of an investigation into data security across Whitehall” – but no-one’s sure whether the drive has been actually stolen, or is simply lost within the system, safely tucked away somewhere being a filing cabinet, instead. Stupidly, we learn from the article that the UK’s Royal Air Force decided encryption of the drive wasn’t necessary because it was in a “secure area”. Ho, ho, ho and ha, ha, ha. Is this a case of dumb and dumber, or what? So, what was on the drive? Oh, nothing too important, if you’re the IT manager of the RAF who thinks that drives shouldn’t be encrypted. After all, what could be important about the “names, addresses, passport numbers, dates of birth, driving licence details and telephone numbers”, which the Computerworld article says was on the drive? Clearly “identity thieves” and other online criminals have no use for this kind of information, right? Sigh. More here.
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