Another Whitehall data loss strikes

A FLASH memory stick containing passwords for one of the biggest public sector web sites has been found in a pub car park.

This is not the normal habitat for a Whitehall memory stick, and the Government is fuming about the breach. The passwords were for the Government Gateway, a site where people register to use more than 100 public services including tax and benefit claims.

The site was temporarily closed after the loss was discovered.

It might all the a storm in a pint glass as the stick contained the usernames and passwords of a "handful" of members of the public and the details were encrypted.

It is the latest in a string of data breaches in recent months. Last year, Prime Minister Gordon Brown ordered a review after HM Revenue and Customs lost data on 25 million people, exposing them to the risk of identity theft and fraud µ.

L'Inq
Reuters