Data on 15m benefits claims 'lost by Customs'

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main...customs220.xml

The head of Revenue & Customs has resigned after his department lost the details of as many as 15 million child benefit claimants in what is believed to be one of the world's biggest ID protection failures.

Paul Gray quit ahead of a Commons statement this afternoon by Chancellor Alistair Darling on "a major operational problem".

It is understood the information was stored on discs, which went missing in transit and have not yet been recovered. The Metropolitan Police are investigating

The data includes names, home addresses, dates of birth, National Insurance numbers and bank details of millions of child benefit recipients.

It is understood that senior officials from Revenue and Customs were called to a meeting with Treasury officials at the weekend as the scale of the problem emerged.

It is not the first security breach involving HM Revenue & Customs.

Earlier this month, BBC Radio 4's Money Box programme reported that a CD containing the personal details of thousands of Standard Life pension holders had gone missing, leaving them at risk of fraud.

Nearly 15,000 customers were warned to be on high alert for potential scams after their data was lost in transit by an external courier. However, it is thought that the statement does not relate directly to that case.

The revelations are likely to pile more pressure on Mr Darling, who has already been heavily criticised for his handling of the Northern Rock crisis.

In a statement, Mr Gray said: "This is not the way I would have planned to organise my departure from HMRC."

Michael Fallon, the Conservative member of the House of Commons Treasury Committee, said he was "stunned" by Mr Gray's departure.

He told BBC News 24: "Paul Gray is a very distinguished public servant who had served successive governments and we thought had a very good grip on the problems at Revenue and Customs."

The merger of Customs and Excise with the Inland Revenue announced by the then Chancellor Gordon Brown in 2004 created the biggest department in Whitehall.

The giant, minister-less super-ministry, was put under the control of an executive board, although the Chancellor remained responsible to parliament for its operations.

If only we had biometric ID cards.

Anyone want to buy a CD . . .

[the_lone_wolf]

Originally Posted by licoricepizza

If only we had biometric ID cards.

and they wonder why people aren't keen on stumping up their personal details for the scheme

They're saying 25 million now in the House of Commons.

Do I hear 30?

[Viney]

Originally Posted by Mr Toad

Anyone want to buy a CD . . .

Dowloaded it of Bit Torrent 20 mins ago.

Its only people on Benefits, so what use is it to anyone, they havent got any money in the 1st place!!

Originally Posted by Viney

Dowloaded it of Bit Torrent 20 mins ago.

Its only people on Benefits, so what use is it to anyone, they havent got any money in the 1st place!!

I thought it was child benefits? - everyone with children gets that - its a set figure per child - stops when they leave full time education.

Why if the information was so important did they give the job of sending it to a low grade worker?

Originally Posted by the_lone_wolf

and they wonder why people aren't keen on stumping up their personal details for the scheme

I think you miss the point somehow fella. I can assure you that a biometric system is more fail safe than anything else being presently used.

I have intimate knowledge of a system that has been developed which "presently" cannot be cheated. I can't say too much about it but I can assure you it would if adopted by banks for example, virtually remove credit card fraud from the world. It also has a wide spread of applications for point of sale,access control,cash dispensers plus a plug in version can be created that can fit in to your pc and allow safe interent transactions to take place.

The system I mention is far more accurate than finger tip reading, eye reading or voice activated systems.

Biometrics definitely the way ahead. Although the security of information being provided perhaps fall in to another category!

[the_lone_wolf]

Originally Posted by Pedrosa

I think you miss the point somehow fella. I can assure you that a biometric system is more fail safe than anything else being presently used.

doesn't matter *what* they're storing, it's the storage methods that aren't able to prevent events like this, human error will ALWAYS be a factor. pretty much every large government run computer database since labour came to power has had problems, they should just face the facts that they aren't good at implimenting those kind of schemes. the fact that they're storing people's eye colour, height or even DNA sample only means that it's THAT information that gets out when (not if) someone makes an boo boo

to paraphrase, when the systems do exist to completely eliminate fraud AND human error, then it's peachy, but until then you'll have to keep coming up with more idiotproof methods, and the universe will keep coming up with better idiots