10 Days...That's A Long Time To Wait To Alert The Public?

Question

Apparently Alastair Darling knew about this child benefit fiasco TEN DAYS ago! That's an awful long time don't you think when you're faced with possible fraud on a massive scale. Should the public have been alerted sooner? Or do you think he was protecting himself against another run on the banks? I for one am now going to be moving my money into my own personal account that wouldn't have been detailed on these discs.

Either way, do you agree that ten days was a long time to wait to bring this out into the open?

And apparently it took them FOUR days to alert the police. Breathtaking incompetence!!!

Answer 1

Obviously they were hoping to find the discs, before they had to announce that they had lost them.

It's also obvious that staff, in both departments involved, were incapable of transferring data by secure electronic means.

Why didn't the Audit Office do their audit on site, as happens with all major companies? I would guess that it's because very few (If any.) members of this government, have any actual business experience, and don't really know the normal rules which should apply.
i.e. Junior employees are not allowed to make unilateral
decisions, where extremely sensitve data is involved.

Will this government now admit that it is "Not fit for purpose"
and resign??

Answer 2

No he had to tell others forst so that they had a chance to guard against Fraud. In addition they had sent the discs by post and they could well have been caught up in the post strike, remember he knew 10 days ago they had been missing for some time before he knew.

I'm glad the point has been made on ID cards and Medical Records. the latter in the wrong hands could be fuel for a blackmailer.

I note that they claim that the new systems are in place which are far better than the old ones. I think first year Accountancy Students are mad very aware that all systems electronic or otherwise can be breached. You only have to be aware of teenage hackers to know this is true when they can break into US government systems.

The point I am making is that if you want the best security paper and a strongroom is still the best if not infallable

Answer 3

A similar thing happened to me, except the other way around. I was told at 5 weeks that due to my HCG levels being so low and not rising adequately that I would miscarry. So I waited for 3 weeks and when no bleeding started, went to OB and he said I would need a D & C. He did a scan to find location of sac and FOUND A LIVE BABY WITH A HEARTBEAT. It had somehow continued to grow (not at correct rate) despite the odds. So I then had weekly scans until sadly I was told the heart had stopped beating. Although I expected it and was still glad I had waited and given it every chance a part of me felt relieved as it just really screwed with my head. Every day I was waiting for another scan I wondered if it had died and was in there and it was a horrible feeling. I ended up having a D & C the day after they found the heart had stopped. That was 6 weeks and 4 days ago and I am currently 6 weeks pregnant as I fell pregnant straight away! And I am really nervous. Email me if you want to - I know I felt very alone at the time, and like no-one understood. You will get through this.

Answer 4

What is being covered up is the security of the public. For instance, it was several days before authorities in San Francisco notified the citizenry about a massive oil spill. How nice for people who may have dallied around the beaches at that time!

Then, too, there's the FBI failing to notify prosecutors and police of the inaccuracy of the bullet lead evidence. They did send out letters, but according to reports, the letter did not accurately describe the depths of the problem.

Now we have 2,500 cases or more of people convicted using bullet lead evidence that was faulty. Of these, Barry Scheck who heads an organization that, along with the FBI, is going through these records, there are 200 cases of people convicted on bullet lead evidence alone. Of these 200 cases, there are at least six that Scheck believes to be completely innocent. Perhaps those statistics could be worse, unless you are one of six innocent folks languishing in prison.

Authorities should promptly inform the public of any problem. If it isn't completely clear, all they have to do is say so, say they are working on it and will publish the results later.

When they participate in cover-ups, it leads people to wonder just what truth is being lied about, what atrocity is being hidden. Honesty is the best policy, as the old saying goes.

Answer 5

It is ludicrous even to suggest that 25m people will not be at a security risk.The crooks of Eastern Europe and Nigeria will think its Christmas come early.It makes a mockery of the Data Protection Act.We are witnessing the most incompetant government of all time.They couldnt organise a p...ss up in a Brewery.You bet its time for change,and only the ordinary people can bring about.Its the end of the line,Immigration,High Fuel prices,Norther Rock now this.

Answer 6

It is breathtaking that it even happened in the first place.

Why was all this highly private information left lying around on discs in the first place?
But this is our incompetent Government at it's best so they will let some guy who had nothing to do with it take the fall, They will also expect us to accept that it has happened and expect us to now to go change all our details causing us nothing but problems.

Answer 7

Of course it was a long time, and how much does it show the incompetence of these people, they had 10 days to come up with a good excuse and even failed at that. Bloody scary to think they are in charge of such important and delicate public information x

Answer 8

Totally agree, this is one big **** up, but whats one more amongst so many? People want to realise that this is no game, it's peoples lives they're screwing with here, and in a government theres no room for that. It beats me why people on here are STILL trying to defend this screw up of a government, they must be either blind, deaf or congenitally stupid.

Answer 9

10 days, enough time to try and patch together what excuses they're going to spin us. Apparently they shouldn't have even copied the information onto discs, let alone put them into the mailing system.

If there's ever evidence that the government should never be trusted with so much of our private information in one place, this is it.

Answer 10

I am horrified. Yes, it's a long time - but is there any advice on what we can do to protect our bank accounts from these thieves? Can they access our accounts?
I don't think that enough information about the risks has been given to us.