Public tolerance of government data leaks appears to be
running out, with the vast majority of people now believing those
responsible should face criminal charges.
According to a survey conducted for encryption specialist
Stonewood Group, 89% of those
asked said they would like to see government departments face legal
action if they lose data negligently.
The findings come after a
steady stream of data losses over the past 18 months with some
memorable examples including the HMRC data discs loss hitting the
headlines.
The high-profile data leaks from the likes of the Prison
Service, MoD and the NHS have been a boon to the security
channel.
Grant Gutteridge, a director at Stonewood, said that not enough
was being done to protect data and the pressure was increasing to
get more encryption deployed across government departments.
"The Information Commissioner's Office wants all organisations,
especially those with large databases, to make sure that they are
addressing all the risks of data handling," said Grant.
Stonewood is now setting up an
online petition to
put pressure on the government to do more to protect data.
This story first appeared on
MicroScope.co.uk.