UK: Police personal data found on discarded floppy

["Dan O'Donnell" <dano () well com>]

<http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/7160490.stm>

  Police data details found at dump
A senior police officer has apologised after confidential details of 
staff were found on a dump in Devon.

The details, on a floppy disk, included names, addresses, telephone 
numbers and ranks of employees of Devon and Cornwall Police.

The disk was in an obsolete computer that had been used by the force 
and had been sent for recycling.

Ass Ch Con Bob Pennington apologised to staff and said the matter was 
being investigated.

Recycling centre

"We take our responsibilities for protecting all information 
seriously and are extremely concerned as to how this single disk was 
not removed before the machine was taken out of use," he said.

"Recycling old computers was a conscious decision taken by the force 
as part of an overall cost cutting exercise and hard drives are 
always wiped clean but it appears that on this occasion the floppy 
disk has been overlooked."

Information stored on the disk also included firearms qualifications.

It was found by a man looking for spare computer parts at a recycling 
centre in Exeter, who alerted a national newspaper.

It follows the loss of details for millions of hospital patients, 
learner drivers and child benefit claimants.
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