After another day of confusion around the Government's plans for increased surveillance powers, it now appears there is some back-tracking and the bill will only be a 'draft'.
Here's an update of some key points, while Privacy International have highlighted some serious issues with a briefing given to Liberal Democrat MPs.
Key issues:
The Coalition Agreement pledged: “We will end the storage of
Research published today by Big Brother Watch highlights how only 12% of Google service users have read Google’s new privacy policy.
The study, undertaken with YouGov, found while 92% of people online use a Google service on a regular basis, 65% of people were not aware the change comes into effect this week and 47% of people did not know any change was being proposed.
This follows the Article 29 Working
Our latest report highlights the cost to local authorities of their CCTV operations - £515m in the past four years.
There are now at least 51,600 CCTV cameras controlled by local authorities, with five councils now operating more than 1,000 cameras. In comparison, £515m would put an extra 4,121 police constables on the streets – the equivalent of Northumbria police’s entire force.
The picture varies
Big Brother Watch has published a report into the worrying scale of data loss across local authorities.
We have uncovered more than 1000 incidents across 132 local authorities, including at least 35 councils who have lost information about children and those in care.
Highly confidential information has been treated without the proper care and respect it deserves. At least 244 laptops and portable computers
After the furore concerning the security beach of the Playstation Network, which meant the personal information of around 100 million users was stolen, Sony have been forced to apologise and offer a $1,000,000 identify theft insurance policy to protect their users in the future.
Sony chief Sir Howard Stringer said:
"As a company we – and I – apologise for the inconvenience and concern caused by this attack. Let me assure you that the resources of this company have been focused on investigating the entire nature and impact of the cyber-attack we've all experienced and on fixing it. We are working with the FBI and other law enforcement agencies around the world to apprehend those responsible."
There has been widespread criticism of Sony’s slow response to the data breach, which is almost unprecedented in terms of scale. The crisis led to Sony’s share price falling by 4% on Thursday alone, as investor’s concerns grew about the total cost of the attacks. Sony hope to have an improved game network with tightened security back online in the next few days, after a downtime which is approaching three weeks. All users will be forced to change their password to ensure security is maintained.
It is impossible to tell if privacy fears will affect the market share of the Playstation 3 in the future, but Sony are offering a months free Playstation Network premium service “to make up for lost time” That may be their line, but many will be wary about the network for a considerable amount of time after a data breach which encompassed nearly the entire populations of the UK and Spain combined.
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Saturday 28th May
Scottish Star – Fife in the frame as most spied on[not available online]
Big Brother Watch found 1,350 cameras in the county, more than any other in Scotland.
Big Brother Watch director Alex Deane said: “The quality of footage is frequently too poor to be used in courts, the cameras are often turned off to save money and control rooms are rarely manned 24 hours a day.
“With crime on the increase it is understandable that some people want more CCTV but we w o u l d all feel safer with more police on the beat. There would be fewer crimes and those crimes that do occur would be solved faster.”
Fife cops said that more than 800 criminals were nicked last year with the help of CCTV, with a number of missing people also traced safe and well.
Friday 27th May
Daily Telegraph – School installs 48 cameras
Daniel Hamilton, director of Big Brother Watch UK, said there were more CCTV cameras in Scotland than anywhere else in the world.
“Wouldn’t schools be better off spending the money on educating their pupils, rather than spying on them?” he said.
The Sun – ‘Spy’ fury at school
Daniel Hamilton, of campaigners Big Brother Watch UK, said: “Schools should spend their money on educating their pupils, not spying on them.”
But Daniel Hamilton, director of Big Brother Watch UK, said: “There is already more CCTV in schools in Scotland than anywhere else in the world.
“Wouldn’t schools be better off spending the money on educating their pupils, rather than spying on them?” A spokesman for the school said all the cameras were in “social areas” such as stairwells and corridors, not in classrooms.
Thursday 26th May
Daniel Hamilton on BBC South discussing a Bournemouth coach operator’s decision to fit “alcometers” to all its coaches.
Daniel Hamilton on BBC London discussing the government’s plans to log the details of air passengers and share them with the United States government for fifteen years.
Alex Deane is director of Big Brother Watch, which fights intrusions into privacy. He said councils across Britain had created “enormous networks” of CCTV surveillance at great expense but claimed that the evidence for the ability of CCTV to deter or solve crimes was sketchy at best.
“The quality of footage is frequently too poor to be used in courts, the cameras are often turned off to save money and control rooms are rarely manned 24 hours a day,” Mr Deane said. “With crime on the increase it is understandable that some people want more CCTV but we would all feel safer with more police on the beat, there would be fewer crimes and those crimes that do occur would be solved faster.”
Daniel Hamilton is Director of the civil liberties group Big Brother Watch and an expert on the Balkans.
It is a little under three years since the Russian Federation’s invasion of the Republic of Georgia which claimed the lives of more than 400 innocent civilians.
While the conflict has received little international attention of late, the ongoing Russian occupation of Georgian sovereign territory remains one of Europe’s bloodiest running sores. As I write, 20 percent of Georgia’s territory in Abkhazia and South Ossetia remains under the control of the Russian army.
Daniel Hamilton is Director of the civil liberties group Big Brother Watch and an expert on the Balkans.
A short while ago on Thursday, the Serbian government confirmed that Ratko Mladic, the former head of the Bosnian Serb army, had been apprehended.
With Mladic’s delivery to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) expected to take place within days (if not hours), the final act in the grim trilogy featuring Mladic himself, Slobodan Miloševic and Radovan Karadžic is now upon us. He will face trial for genocide and war crimes committed during the 1992 to 1995 Bosnian war.
Alex Deane, director of privacy group Big Brother Watch, called the ICC report’s findings “shocking”.
“The level of covert surveillance in this country is shocking. These operations are now part of our nation’s everyday life. Worst of all, the commissioner has revealed that dozens of operations conducted in the past year were in fact unauthorised,” he said.
The (much) smaller role for nannying interference in normal life will be welcomed by both The Freedom Association and (cause of my heart) Big Brother Watch.
Sunday 22nd May
Alex Deane commented on superinjunctions on Late Night Nicksy (syndicated nationally)
Wales on Sunday – Police files put public on the record[not available online]
Daniel Hamilton, director of civil liberties campaign group Big Brother Watch, called on forces to delete the information relating to victims and innocent people.
He said: “The vast scale of these police databases is horrifying. There are more people logged on these systems than actually live in Wales.
“It’s particularly concerning to see that these databases hold information about hundreds of thousands of people who have never been convicted of a crime. Their details must be deleted without delay.
“Police databases ought to be used to hold the details of convicted criminals, not to catalogue personal information about innocent members of the public.”
He said: “The vast scale of these police databases is horrifying. There are more people logged on these systems than actually live in Wales.
“It’s particularly concerning to see that these databases hold information about hundreds of thousands of people who have never been convicted of a crime. Their details must be deleted without delay.
“Police databases ought to be used to hold the details of convicted criminals, not to catalogue personal information about innocent members of the public.”
“If the ICO continues to refuse to hand out punitive financial punishments for data protection breaches then they will keep occurring,” the Big Brother Watch added.
“Simply asking public bodies to sign undertakings to improve staff training will not solve these problems.”
The group demanded the authority pays back the fines issued by the cars, which total more than £573,000 between 2009 and 2010, according to pressure group Big Brother Watch.
Privacy advocates at Big Brother Watch had their piece, too, welcoming the decision by the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) to place growth and innovation at the heart of its digital strategy.
However, Daniel Hamilton, director at the organisation, points out that the IPO has to be far clearer about exactly what it is Professor Hargreaves is proposing.
“These are many questions that still need answering,” Hamilton says.
“Will the Digital Copyrights Exchange be a central database or just a clearinghouse? How will online privacy be protected while digital copyrights infringement investigations take place? What exact powers will the IPO gain?”
Tuesday 17th May
Daniel Hamilton on Leith FM discussing Police data protection breaches in Scotland and the Coaliton Government’s record in their first year in office.
Monday 16th May
Daniel Hamilton at the Freedom Association’s ‘Free Spirits‘ event discussing the work of Big Brother Watch.
Daily Express – Police in disgrace for privacy breaches[not available online]
Daniel Hamilton, director of privacy at Big Brother Watch said:
“Most officers realise their responsibility in handling data. However, an isolated few are misusing the system.
Daniel Hamilton, Vorsitzender der Protestgruppe “Big Brother Watch” hat ebenso schwere Bedenken über den Einsatz einer solchen Software für die tägliche Polizeiarbeit: “Die Entscheidung der Polizei, sich Technologie zuzulegen, die ursprünglich für Kriegsszenarien entwickelt wurde, ist sehr bedenklich. Die Metropolitan Police muss der Öffentlichkeit glaubhaft versichern, dass GeoTime nur in schweren Fällen zum Einsatz kommt – nicht als alltägliche Waffe im Kampf gegen Verbrechen.”
Organizaţiile pentru apărarea drepturilor omului au acuzat vehement achiziţionarea softului Geotime. Daniel Hamilton, director Big Brother Watch: „Decizia poliţiei de a folosi tehnologie creată pentru teatrele de război ca să urmărească persoane private este extrem de îngrijorătoare. Capacitatea de a construi un dosar atât de complet asupra mişcărilor unei persoane constituie o ameninţare serioasă la adresa intimităţii acesteia”.
Daniel Hamilton. director of privacy campaign group Big Brother Watch said: “It’s astonishing to think that a local council could adopt such heavy-handed tactics.
“Bureaucrats everywhere are using the environment as an excuse to intrude on our lives and increase council revenue.”
South Wales Echo – Councils rule out ‘big brother’ waste plans[not available online]
Daniel Hamilton, director of privacy campaign group Big Brother Watch, said: “It’s astonishing to think that local councils could adopt such heavy-handed tactics.
“Bureaucrats everywhere are using the environment as an excuse to intrude on our lives and increase council revenue.”
Daniel Hamilton, director of privacy campaign group Big Brother Watch, said he was concerned about the use of such invasive software for everyday police work.
Daniel Hamilton, Big Brother Watch’s director, said: “Sending in bailiffs to recover debts should always be the absolute last resort.”
The Times – Without doubt? Bell man takes his place[not available online]
A former chief of staff to David Cameron has been elected a “common councilman” on the Corporation of London. Alex Deane, a barrister and former director of the civil liberties group Big Brother Watch, was elected to the ward of Farringdon Without, the biggest ward in the City with Temple at one end and Smithfield Market at the other. Deane works in the City as a director of Bell Pottinger Public Affairs (though we won’t hold that against him). Despite his Tory leanings, the City’s tradition of non-party political elections means the Cambridge graduate was elected as an independent. Most at Guildhall will be hoping he stays that way.
Thursday 12th May
Daniel Hamilton on LBC Radio discussing Police criminal records checks.
Daniel Hamilton, director of privacy campaign group Big Brother Watch, said he was concerned about the use of such invasive software for everyday police work.
‘The police’s decision to adopt technology designed for theatres of war in order to track members of the public is deeply concerning,’ he said.
‘The ability to build up such a comprehensive record of any person’s movements represents a significant threat to personal privacy.
‘The Metropolitan Police must reassure the public that this technology will be used in only the most serious of cases, not as everyday crime-fighting tool.’
Daniel Hamilton, director of privacy campaign group Big Brother Watch, said he was concerned about the use of such invasive software for everyday police work.
‘The police’s decision to adopt technology designed for theatres of war in order to track members of the public is deeply concerning,’ he said.
‘The ability to build up such a comprehensive record of any person’s movements represents a significant threat to personal privacy.
‘The Metropolitan Police must reassure the public that this technology will be used in only the most serious of cases, not as an everyday crime-fighting tool.’
“The police’s decision to adopt technology designed for theatres of war in order to track members of the public is deeply concerning,” Daniel Hamilton, director of the Big Brother Watch privacy blog, told ZDNet UK in a statement. “The ability to build up such a comprehensive record of any person’s movements represents a significant threat to personal privacy.”
“The police’s decision to adopt technology designed for theatres of war in order to track members of the public is deeply concerning,” Daniel Hamilton, director of the Big Brother Watch, told IT PRO.
“The ability to build up such a comprehensive record of any person’s movements represents a significant threat to personal privacy. The Metropolitan Police must reassure the public that this technology will be used in only the most serious of cases, not as everyday crime-fighting tool.”
It’s a practice Frank Manning of Big Brother Watch finds deeply troubling. Frank Manning: I don’t think people like the idea of vehicles driving around with a camera recording them. His organization filed freedom of information requests that found camera cars brought in over $13 million in fines last year. Manning: Road safety seems to be last thing on their mind really. It’s scandalous.
Reigate Mirror – Councils reveal their use of debt collectors[not available online]
The findings follow a Freedom of Information request from Big Brother Watch, a civil liberties and privacy campaigning group.
Daniel Hamilton, Big Brother Watch’s director, said: “Sending in bailiffs to recover debts should always be the absolute last resort.”
A Tandridge District Council spokeswoman said debt collectors were only used when the council had “exhausted all other means of getting payment”. She added: “We assess every case individually, and try to agree a reasonable payment plan with the debtor.
“As a last resort we use reputable bailiff firms which follow a strict code of practice and receive few complaints. Most people pay the council on time.”
Tuesday 10th May
Scottish Daily Record – Statellite to track Scots bus drivers [not available online]
But Daniel Hamilton, director of Big Brother Watch, hit out: “It’s a fairly sad indictment on what the bus company thinks of its own employees that it feels the need to track their every movement.”
Monday 9th May
Daniel Hamilton on BRMB Radio discussing the removal of CCTV cameras in Birmingham which were erected during Project Champion.
Daniel Hamilton on BBC Hereford and Worcestershire discussing West Mercia Police’s breaches of the Data Protection Act
Daniel Hamilton, director of Big Brother Watch, said today: “While we are delighted these cameras are being removed, this expensive and oppressive waste of time should never have been given the go-ahead.
“Vital civil liberties and any basic concept of privacy were both disregarded by this scheme.
“These cameras were totally unnecessary for anti-terror or anti-crime purposes and only served to alienate Muslim residents.
“Public trust in the police has been significantly undermined and will take years to rebuild.”
Press Association – Controversial cameras to be removed[not available online]
Daniel Hamilton, director of Big Brother Watch, said today: “While we are delighted these cameras are being removed, this expensive and oppressive waste of time should never have been given the go-ahead.
“Vital civil liberties and any basic concept of privacy were both disregarded by this scheme.
“These cameras were totally unnecessary for anti-terror or anti-crime purposes and only served to alienate Muslim residents.
“Public trust in the police has been significantly undermined and will take years to rebuild.”
Daniel Hamilton, director of Big Brother Watch, said today: “While we are delighted these cameras are being removed, this expensive and oppressive waste of time should never have been given the go-ahead.
“Vital civil liberties and any basic concept of privacy were both disregarded by this scheme.
“These cameras were totally unnecessary for anti-terror or anti-crime purposes and only served to alienate Muslim residents.
“Public trust in the police has been significantly undermined and will take years to rebuild.”
Daniel Hamilton, director of Big Brother Watch, said today: “While we are delighted these cameras are being removed, this expensive and oppressive waste of time should never have been given the go-ahead.
“Vital civil liberties and any basic concept of privacy were both disregarded by this scheme.
“These cameras were totally unnecessary for anti-terror or anti-crime purposes and only served to alienate Muslim residents.
“Public trust in the police has been significantly undermined and will take years to rebuild.”
According to pressure group Big Brother Watch, Richmond Council issued more than 12,000 tickets in 2009-10, which raked in a hefty £573,000 while the London Motorists’ Action Group branded the situation ‘scandalous’.
Research by Big Brother Watch – a campaign group fighting intrusions on privacy and freedom – showed that £88,350 was raised through issuing fixed penalty notices and £3,078 from fines for parking contraventions in the borough.
“At the end of the day Facebook is offering a service and users should be aware of what will and will not adhere to the rules of using that service,” the Big Brother Watch’s Dominique Lazanski told IT PRO
“If users don’t read terms and conditions on services like Facebook it doesn’t mean that Facebook or other services won’t act on behalf of their own terms and conditions.”
What many affected by the weekend’s profile removals want is greater transparency from Facebook, rather than doing what it wants without user consultation beforehand.
“How Facebook dealt with this particular issue, however, seems to be that it didn’t use the best approach to customer service and users were upset because of the lack of transparency and communication on Facebook’s part,” Lazanski added.
Thursday 5th May
Daniel Hamilton on BBC Radio 5 Live discussing littering fines for motorists.
Daniel Hamilton on BBC Breakfast TV discussing littering fines for motorists.
“At the end of the day Facebook is offering a service and users should be aware of what will and will not adhere to the rules of using that service,” the Big Brother Watch’s Dominique Lazanski told IT PRO
“If users don’t read terms and conditions on services like Facebook it doesn’t mean that Facebook or other services won’t act on behalf of their own terms and conditions.”
What many affected by the weekend’s profile removals want is greater transparency from Facebook, rather than doing what it wants without user consultation beforehand.
“How Facebook dealt with this particular issue, however, seems to be that they didn’t use the best approach to customer service and users were upset because of the lack of transparency and communication on Facebook’s part,” Lazanski added.
Daniel Hamilton from Big Brother Watch debates with Samantha Harding from the Council for Protection of Rural England on fines for motorists of £80 if litter is dropped from their car, irrespective of who threw it.
Today represents a small victory against invasions of privacy, and it shows what can be achieved by consumers telling companies that the security of their data is important to them. Apple has responded to complaints about the location tracking database included in the software on iPhones and iPads by releasing an update to the iOS software interface.
Iteration 4.3.3. reduces the amount of time location data is stored to a week, while removing the auto-synchronisation of location data with iTunes when the device is plugged into a computer. This stops potential hackers from stealing your location data from a laptop or desktop your device has been connected to.
Although this is a welcome step, we would ask Apple to go even further. This data should be encrypted, without this anyone can access the data and find out your location for every second of the preceding seven days. It is not acceptable to hide an acceptance of tracking in a 15,000-word terms and conditions agreement which no one has the time to read.
The update applies to the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPad 2, iPad, and the 3rd and 4th iterations of the iPod Touch. However the iPhone 3G will not receive the update.
Plug your device into iTunes now to download the update and increase your security, or go to http://www.apple.com/ios/
Last week the Protection of Freedoms Bill Committee reconvened after the Easter Holiday to discuss the surveillance cameras section of the Bill. What should have been a line-by-line analysis of the Bill in relation to the ever-growing surveillance network in the UK alas turned into a shallow tabloid-like squabble over who loved CCTV the most.
The public believe CCTV "enhances community safety and helps in respect of confidence" cried opposition MP Vernon Coaker, "at the heart of the Government’s proposals is a desire to ensure that CCTV commands the confidence of the community it serves" proclaimed Home Office Minister James Brokenshire. Might we "conceivably see an increase in the number of properly regulated CCTV cameras?" tee-ed up Tom Watson, "Certainly" came the Ministers reply. Business as usual in the pro-surveillance Westminster Parliament, as the CCTV portion of the Bill passed through the Committee with no amendments.
Much of the proposed so-called “regulation” of surveillance cameras in the Bill looks eerily familiar: it bears an uncanny resemblance to the National CCTV Strategy published in 2007 by the Home Office and the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO). In reality this is not just ‘business as usual’, it’s worse than that: it leads us even further into a total surveillance society. The proposed Code of Practice for surveillance cameras actually facilitates, encourages and positively welcomes the development of sophisticated and powerful new surveillance networks. By establishing technical standards designed to enable integration between systems and incorporate new technologies, this legislation could usher in a new dawn of high tech surveillance:
"Modern digital technology is on the cusp of revolutionising the use of CCTV: affordable high resolution systems with powerful zoom potential, small discrete (sic) cameras, 360 degree vision, wireless and internet networks facilitating mobility and cheap installation, and effective video analytics software (for example, facial recognition) are coming closer to being an established part of the CCTV landscape."
Read that again and think about it. In fact, read the relevant section of the Bill and the Code of Practice and you will see that the rhetoric of reassurance rests on nothing more concrete or specific than vague allusions.
There will be a worrying change to DVLA powers this year, starting in June, which many people remain unaware of. Motorists, who neglect to renew their car insurance, or simply forget, will run the risk of having their car clamped, seized and destroyed. The system is called “Continuous Insurance Enforcement”, and is being billed by ministers as a “fresh weapon against uninsured drivers.”
It means uninsured vehicles no longer have to be spotted on the road to be clamped and seized, as this can now happen even if the car is parked on a driveway. The only exception is if the registered keeper declares the car to be permanently off road, a process which some may find restrictively complicated. Motorists suspected of having no insurance will receive a letter first, then a £100 fixed penalty, followed by a fine of £1,000 if the case goes to court, or the vehicle being clamped, seized or destroyed.
While some dangerous drivers may purposefully avoid insuring their car, there is a huge risk that this law will be implemented in a blanket fashion, catching those that have been on holiday for a long time, or had an enforced stay in a hospital due to illness. It is also very easy to forget to renew something like car insurance and mistakes can happen due to incorrect number plates being registered with insurance companies.
The Department for Transport said:
“Under continuous insurance enforcement it will be an offence to keep an uninsured vehicle, rather than just to drive when uninsured. The regulations laid today will allow the DVLA to take action against those who ignore warnings to get their vehicle insured.”
“If the vehicle remains uninsured – regardless of whether the fine is paid – it could then be clamped, seized and destroyed. The regulations laid in Parliament today would give the DVLA the powers to take this action.”
But the AA's Paul Watters said:
“Many otherwise innocent motorists face being unwittingly fined or clamped for doing little more than being forgetful or distracted by the normal business of life. There must be some flexibility or leniency, otherwise this will become just another scam, like some cowboy parking ticket or clamping operations. It must not become a money spinner.”
“Safeguards must be in place to ensure that where offences are committed inadvertently, for example through illness delaying renewal of insurance or where a simple registration number mistake has been made on an insurance certificate, drivers are dealt with sympathetically.”
A survey by AA Insurance has revealed that out of 13,000 AA members, an astonishing 6 out of 10 motorists had not heard about the new law, and of those that had, 4 in 10 did not know what it meant.
It is a legal responsibility to maintain car insurance on a vehicle, and with good reason, but to threaten people with the seizure and destruction of a vehicle which could potentially be worth tens of thousands of pounds or more is vastly disproportionate. Ministers and the DVLA should ensure that motorists who are unable to renew or simply forget their insurance are not treated in the same manner as those that knowingly flout the laws on car insurance.
This morning's Telegraph carries a genuinely shocking story about mother and daughter Monica and Janet McIntosh who have were arrested and detained for seven hours for the very worst of cruel and depraved crimes: feeding pidgeons.
Now don't get us wrong – the BBW team loath pidgeons, or "flying rats" as we have been known to call them – but to detain an 76-year-old lady and her daughter for seven hours under suspicion of commiting a public nuisance offence and to later seize her house keys, bank statements and cheque books is nothing short of outrageous. If the lady in question was, as the article suggests, annoying neighbours with her behaviour, would it not have been more proportionate for the Police to have had a quiet word asking her to desist?
The bully-boy tactics deployed by Cumbria County Constabulary closely mirror those used against Vanessa Kelly, a Sandwell lady who was handed a fixed penalty notice of £75 for feeling ducks in her local park. Thankfully, the fine was cancelled following the intervention of Big Brother Watch. Similar such cases were also seen in Sandwell, where a woman was fined for dropping a tissue while running for the bus and a resident threatened with prosecution unless she removed a "welcome" plaque from her garden gnomes.
In what seems like a continuing war on motorists, drivers will face £80 fines which could rise to £2,500 for litter being thrown from their vehicle, even if the driver themselves did not throw it.
Ministers are considering changing the law via the Localism Bill, currently progressing through Parliament, so that motorists are responsible for any rubbish which comes out of their own vehicles. Council Officers will take down number plates as well as using CCTV cameras to identify offenders. Fines will then be issued to the owner of the vehicle. If the owner cannot identify who actually dropped the litter, they must pay the £80 fine. If drivers refuse, they could face a magistrates’ court, with a fine up to £2,500. This is designed to stop appeals and to scare motorists into paying quickly.
Clyde Loakes, vice-chairman of the Local Government Association's environment board said that litter louts are currently getting away scot-free, and closing the current loophole should cover some of the £850m needed to keep streets clean.
"It's time to get tough on lazy, selfish people who toss rubbish from moving cars and expect other people to cover the cost of cleaning it up," he added.
The potential change to the law comes after councils and environmental campaigners have pressed for years, claiming the current system makes it nearly impossible to prosecute drivers for littering.
Of course littering can be a problem on roads, as well as occasionally being dangerous when vehicles are moving at speed, but this seems like yet another attempt to raise council funds by enforcing harsh penalties on drivers, who may not have even known about the littering. Local councils should look at reducing their costs in this financial climate before spying on people in cars in an effort to impose draconian fines.
The Sony security breach is serious. Obviously it is hugely distressing if you are one of the huge number of people affected but it also raises questions on when should we, the public, be told about a serious security breach? Also what constitutes a security breach?
In most US states, companies are required to report data breaches as soon as they happen. Let me be clear, I have no doubt whatsoever that Sony would have acted as quickly as possible once the full extent of the security breach was known, but the fact that it appears that a whole week went by before a public announcement was made has raised a few eyebrows. We do know that the EU is already looking in detail at a Data Protection Directive which will potentially introduce a mandatory reporting process for all organisations, but the earliest that will come into play is 2015.
This breach should serve as a wake-up call to companies in all industry sectors – it is vital to have effective breach management, not just prevention, procedures in place. If a company is seen as unable to protect its customers’ data, its reputation as a whole can be severely affected. After all, Sony has worldwide, exposed 77 million of its users. It has been estimated that a security data breach costs a UK company £71 per record. The coalition, while being firm believers in the stripping down of unnecessary burdens and regulations for business, should be keeping a watchful eye on how Sony reacts.
According a news report sent through to the BBW team this morning by a supporter in Hampshire, Eastleigh Borough Council have been compiling a secret list of "undesirable" local residents which is made available to councillors, council staff and private contractors.
Following an administrative blunder, however, the list is no longer a secret! Father-of-five Matthew Myatt, a regular contributor to the Eastleigh News, has been handed a copy of the list of "potentially aggressive clients" which council chiefs feel its staff need "protecting from".
Mr Myatt is understandably upset to have been included on the list – especially given that he has no criminal convictions and whose only 'crime' appears to have been a disagreement with a council official several years ago. Quite rightly, he is angry that his name has "been circulated to private contractors who could decline to offer him goods or services because some faceless council official".
The council have written to Mr Myatt demanding he return the list to them, yet have not offered him any form of explanation or apology.
We have written to the Chief Executive of Eastleigh Borough Council, Bernie Topham, demanding the council issue a full and public apology to Mr Myatt and all those included on this list. You can ask her yourself, by e-mailing [email protected] or 'phoning 02380 688257.
