Even highly-protected agencies like UK government ministries are unable to prevent insider attacks. Experts at InfoWatch are astonished by the inaction of businesses and state bodies because its not as if the necessary solutions don’t exist. They need only be deployed and set to work…
Shortcomings in security systems at a number of government departments have led to leaks of confidential information by insiders, Silicon.com reports. The Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) and the Department for Transport (DfT) have both suffered data leaks.
The DfT has admitted that eight security breaches of databases controlled by the department and its agencies have been committed by the department's staff over the last five years, resulting in a total of 96 records being compromised. In 2006 alone two breaches have occurred with 40 records being compromised. But transport minister Gillian Merron said there have been "no confirmed security breaches from external sources".
DCA minister Vera Baird also confirmed an incident took place in her department in July this year that it is still under investigation. In response to a parliamentary question on the incident she said: "The information was compromised when IT equipment was stolen from departmental accommodation.”
The Department for Education said it had detected only one such incident over the past five years, which happened in 2005. It did not say how many records had been compromised by that breach.
According to Denis Zenkin, marketing director at InfoWatch, if such serious organizations cannot protect personal data from leakage, then the problem of insiders can be considered particularly acute in all organizations. The most astonishing aspect is the lack of response by businesses and state bodies because the necessary solutions are already on the market.
Source: Silicon
