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NHS catches the data loss bug
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Hundreds of thousands of patients' records have gone astray at nine National Health Service (NHS) trusts, it has been revealed. This new scandal in the data loss epidemic was uncovered by a review of practices following the numerous breaches across government departments in recent weeks. Health minister Dawn Primarolo promised improved protection systems in response and said that every effort was being made to recover the data. But Andrew Lansley, the Shadow Health Secretary, was critical of the string of breaches of data security at government branches. He suggested that plans for a national NHS database are in doubt following this data loss episode and added: "You have to wonder why on earth it took the Revenue & Customs to lose their discs and for the government to institute an inquiry across government for these losses of data to come to light. "It does feel like there's a sense in all parts of government that we're required to provide data and we are constantly told that it will be protected, but in reality that level of protection simply isn't there." Scrutiny of sensitive data protection systems has been upped in both the private and public spheres after a series of breaches, starting with 25 million personal records of those who receive child benefit being lost by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs. Companies would be advised to check their IT security defences are up to scratch, especially in the light of the £1.26 million fine handed out to insurer Norwich Union for failing to adequately protect its customers from identity theft. Azzurri is delivering flexible networks that give organisations agility and value for money.  |