A point I frequently make is that it's not just the regulated and sensitive data sets that have value and require good control. Simple lists of email addresses and names also have value. No better evidence of this is required than the fact that a BBC mailing list of people who had signed up to receive information on next month's Electric
Proms music festival has been hijacked by hackers and used to send spam for
anti-impotence medication. See http://www.information-age.com/home/information-age-today/646696/bbc-mailing-list-hijacked-by-spammers.thtml.No small amount of embarrasment for the BBC, especially with an MP throwing his weight behind the commentary and calling it a compromise of "reputation of integrity and trust."
I've just sent a message to cascade throughout my own organisation about this incident. It's good to learn from the misfortune of others. But, as they say, "there but for the grace of God go I..."
