(((It's always great to peruse concrete, real-life examples of the inevitable screw-ups, as opposed to fantastic ultra-worst-case scenarios.
Note that the Matthew Mellon "British Centipede" case makes this list.)))
http://ukliberty.wordpress.com/data-abuse/
Link: data abuse « UK Liberty.
data abuse
"This page has some real-life (as opposed to hypothetical) examples of abuses of our personal data.
"This document is updated from time to time. It was most recently updated on 12 November 2007. The most recent updates are at the top.
"The Times reports on a form of identity theft involving a phantom tenant taking out a mortgage on someone else’s property using information taken from the Land Registry’s website.
"Zdnet reports that “An NHS trust is investigating how one of its hard drives containing confidential information was sold online. The Dudley Group of Hospitals NHS Trust is trying to find out how one of its computers full of confidential medical information was sold on eBay.”
Disposal of the trust’s computers is carried out under contract to Siemens Medical Solutions, as part of a PFI agreement. Computer Disposals has a subcontract with Siemens to dispose of obsolete IT. All hard drives that leave the trust via this route should undergo data wiping which meets the government’s standard of being overwritten three times.
"The BBC reports that “Two former policemen have been jailed for hacking into computers while working as private detectives. Ex-Met officers Jeremy Young and Scott Gelsthorpe even tried to hack into the New York Stock Exchange. They received 27 months and two years respectively. Three former Staffordshire officers were jailed for unlawfully accessing the police national computer. ” The article does not make it wholly clear that some of them were serving officers when the offences were committed.
The BBC reports that “A police officer who sold secrets to a private investigator has been jailed at Southwark Crown Court for 15 months.”
The BBC reports that “The number plate system needs to be completely overhauled to beat a rise in “car cloning”, police have said. … Tony Bullock’s car was cloned even though his plates were not physically stolen, and he was threatened with prosecution after “his” car was repeatedly caught speeding in Leicester.”
He said: “It was horrendous. You are guilty until you can prove you’re not. It’s the first time that I’ve thought that English law is on its head.”(((And it's the first time I've ever heard of "car cloning," which sure has a nice 21st-century ring to it.)))
The BBC reports that “Members of an international gang who made £4.5m selling luxury cars stolen in violent attacks have been sentenced. … DVLA official … admitted corruption in a public office and was sentenced to 200 hours community service.”
The Register reports that “The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has closed its online service for visa applicants from India while it investigates a security breach that made the personal details of visa applicants available online. … The security hole was originally reported to both VFS and the British High Commission more than a year ago but no action was taken. …
etc etc etc etc.
