Businesses will not invest in personal data protection until
there are more tangible consequences such as heavy fines or jail
sentences, says security firm
Stonewood.
The number of UK identify fraud has increased by 36% in the past
year according to
research released today to mark the start of
National Identify Fraud
Prevention Week.
Bank account takeovers have increased 23% in the past year,
according to the research by the UK's fraud prevention service,
CIFAS.
Unless the government sends a clear message that there are heavy
consequences to neglecting to secure data, ID fraud will only
escalate, said Chris McIntosh, chief executive of the Stonewood
Group.
Acording to research commissioned by Stonewood, 66% of people in
the UK are worried that they will be affected by identity loss in
the future.
Some 61% said it was unacceptable that by Prime Minister Gordon
Brown's admission, the government cannot promise that every single
item of information will always be safe.
Most respondents (89%) said they believe that it should be a
criminal offence for a government department or private sector
business to lose data negligently.
"The Government must ensure that the punishment fits the crime,
and that businesses are held accountable," said McIntosh.