MPs mull criminal charges for government data loss
MPs suggest new laws and penalties could be introduced for government departments that lose personal data
Criminal proceedings could be brought against government departments that
lose personal data, MPs said yesterday.
The Justice Select Committee said that new laws and penalties could be
introduced on the government following the recent data losses at HM Revenue
& Customs, DVLA and the NHS.
‘The scale of the data loss by government bodies and contractors is truly
shocking but the evidence we have had points to further hidden problems,” said
Alan Beith, chairman of the committee.
‘It is frankly incredible, for example, that the measures HMRC has put in
place were not already standard procedure.’
The Information Commissioner could also be given powers to carry out spot
checks on departments’ systems or making it a requirement that departments flag
up data losses, reported Reuters.
Further reading:
Head of HMRC disc disaster section
gets gong