HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in the UK – sort of the equivalent of the IRS in the US – has lost computer disks containing confidential details of 25 million child benefit recipients. As a result, the UK’s top tax official and head of the HMRC, Paul Gray, has resigned.
How did it happen? In October, a junior tax official at HMRC sent two discs containing entire data set on the payment of child benefits to the National Audit Office (NAO) by post – this method was in breach of established security procedures. Yep, by post. As in through the mail. Bright guy, no? Of course, the discs never arrived.
The discs contained 25 million records. The records included the names, addresses, dates of birth, National Insurance numbers (akin to our Social Security numbers) and some bank details for 7.25 million claimants and all of the country’s 15.5 million children.
When the NAO advised the HMRC on October 24 that it did not receive the package, the HMRC believed it was related to postal strikes and did not report it to officials. A second copy is sent, again in breach of procedures, but this time it is sent by registered post and arrives safely.
Chancellor Alistair Darling was advised as to the missing records on November 10. Darling immediately advises Prime Minister Gordon Brown. However, the Metropolitan Police were not notified until November 14.
An official announcement of the missing data was made to the House of Commons on November 20. Angry MPs have called for spot checks and other emergency measures to prevent misuse of the data. Hours after the announcement, a website claimed to be offering the missing data for download on fullreleases.com, a site registered in Arizona. The data was allegedly available for $29.95 plus tax but the site appears to be nothing more than a hoax.
