Faith in the government's ability
to keep citizens' personal information safe has been dealt yet
another blow by a new case of data loss.
This time the private details of the users of one of the biggest
public sector websites could have been exposed to unauthorised
access.
The Government Gateway website provides a number of services,
including online tax returns, to around 12m registered users.
It was temporarily closed at the weekend after the contractor
responsible for the site reported that a memory stick containing
user names and passwords had been lost by an employee.
The memory stick was later found in a car park in Cannock,
Staffordshire where the contractor,
Atos Origin, is
based.
The contractor said the memory stick had been removed from is
premises in "direct breach" of operating procedures.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is considering
terminating it contract with Atos Origin, according to the
Financial Times.
The DWP claimed the memory stick contained details of a
"handful" of individuals, but said the matter was a "serious
breach" of rules.
Last month, the Home Office
terminated a contract with PA Consulting for
losing the details of 84,000 prisoners held on a memory
stick.
PA Consulting was contracted to process data from the prison
service's
J-Track system for helping police officers track and
rehabilitate prolific offenders.
The latest data blunder comes just weeks before the government
plans to begin rolling out its
controversial ID card scheme.
It has said repeatedly that it will forge ahead with the plan
despite growing concerns over data losses by government
departments.