Serco in security screwup

28 Feb 2007 | 12:39 GMT

By Andrew Thomas

COUNCIL WORKERS in Worcestershire are up in arms following the theft of a laptop containing banking and other personal details of thousands of staff. The laptop was stolen from an employee of the Council's IT supplier, Serco, two weeks ago but the fact that it contained confidential data on 16,239 people only came to light when a local paper broke the news.

The Worcester News also reports that Serco has not revealed where or when the laptop was taken, but speculates that it could be as long as two weeks ago. It is believed that the laptop also contains data on employees who had left the Council's employ as long as six months ago.

Why Serco felt it necessary to hold live confidential data on a laptop is a mystery, and looks set to remain one. The company has failed to respond to requests from The Inquirer, made over two days, for a comment.

So in the absence of a comment from Serco, here's one we made up:

"We consider the storing of confidential information on a laptop to be gross negligence. Any company doing so should have its contract cancelled immediately. We also consider that any company failing to respond to a request for information on a serious security breach from the media, even if it's a simple 'No Comment', should also fire its PR department." µ

L'INQ
Worcester News

© 2007 Incisive Media Investments Ltd. 2007