Police Suffer Paper Trail Fail

Nik Barron - www.virus.org - 21 August 2009Security

Sensitive documents containing details of background checks of around 60 people have been found dumped

Sensitive documents (on paper - how delightfully old fashioned!) containing details of background checks of around 60 people have been found dumped on a building site in Northern Ireland. As it relates to background checks (ironically, these are performed for security reasons) the information is very likely to fall under the "Sensitive personal information" category of the UK Data Protection Act.

The documents originated from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and included details of job applicants who were living in areas likely to be hostile to the PSNI. Although the terrorism threat in Ireland has greatly reduced it is still deeply concerning that such information, provided in confidence, has been so poorly handled.

This latest data breach underlines that it is information that matters, regardless of the medium it is held on. While it's very easy to focus on technical threats to computer information, it's essential not to ignore the threats to information held in more traditional forms.

The Independent: PSNI files found dumped in skip at a building site