November 22, 2007

Government boosts Information Commissioner’s powers

Written by Jan Harris

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Government boosts Information Commissioner's powers
Following HM Revenue & Customs’ loss of personal data belonging to the 25 million recipients of child benefit in the UK, the government has given the Information Commissioner the power to conduct spot checks on data security.

The Information Commissioner will be able to carry out security checks across all Government departments and agencies, which will also have their data storage and usage procedures checked by security experts.

The government recently rejected similar security proposals by the House of Lords Science and Technology select committee, insisting that existing data security procedures were fit for purpose.

The Information Commissioner, Mr Richard Thomas, has welcomed the powers to spot check government departments without the need for consent. He has also advised that data breaches as serious as the HMRC data loss should be made a criminal offence.

Filed Under Security, Technology