It would seem that the government are lacking the initiative to put in place even a basic data protection policy, even though recent major information breaches have deemed it necessary to act upon inaccurate record entries.
Garlik, an online identity firm for Freedom of Information, have revealed that all fourteen of the government departments that have responded to this, actually lack the basic systems needed to follow the Data Protection Act (DPA). The firm offers their services to consumers for them to identify how they appear online and what personal information is made available publicly.
However, if the consumer wants to change or correct inaccurate information, the organisation must act immediately, states the DPA. Only the House of Lords and the Serious Fraud Office hold a written data correction protocol. Nevertheless, even these bodies have failed in keeping a continuous and regular independent audit.
The departments that lack the basic data protection systems complying with the DPA includes HM Revenue and Customs, Department for Work and Pensions, Ministry of Defence and the Independent Police Complaints Commission.
Without accurate information about the public or consumers, vital decisions about their health may be based on these inaccurate records. The public are now showing little confidence over the data held by the government departments, which include the major NHS databases.
Furthermore, Garlik have stated that there are approximately between five and ten percent of database error rates, which may mean those government errors containing ten million records, may hold from 500,000 to a shocking one million errors.
In a statement by Tom Ilube, Chief Executive of Garlik, he mentions that, “The mindset in government departments seems different from that in private sector organisations…There are real consequences if the data on citizens held by government is wrong…”
An urgent request to the government, from Garlik, have asked for them to take into consideration of the public concerns over the data protection act, by establishing written policies over the data protection for keeping track of accurate information entry and correcting the inaccurate database entries. Furthermore, it has also called for governments to write reports on a periodic basis over independent audits.
Ilube further states, “With HMRC and DWP data breaches fresh in people’s minds, these admissions reflect a surprising disregard by Government for the value of our personal information…absence of independent audits point to the root causes of the recent data breaches – a lack of robust accountability.”
Related posts: