U.K. Admits to Losing Data on 3 Million People

Via Computerworld -

December 17, 2007 (Reuters) -- British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's government suffered new embarrassment over missing data today when it revealed that one of its contractors had lost the details of 3 million learner drivers.

The revelation came weeks after the government admitted that it had lost computer discs containing the names and bank account details of 25 million people, exposing nearly half the population to possible fraud and identity theft (see "Operational failure' misplaced records for 25 million kids ... or was it theft?").

The opposition Conservative Party accused the government of incompetence over the data loss, the latest in a series of mishaps that have caused the popularity of Brown's six-month-old government to plunge.

Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly told Parliament a private contractor reported in May that a hard disc drive had gone missing from a facility in Iowa.

It contained the names, addresses and other details of more than 3 million candidates for a theory test taken by learner drivers in the U.K. The disc drive did not contain any bank account or credit card details, Kelly said.

"I apologize for any uncertainty or concern that these individuals may experience," she said.

Kelly also revealed that two discs containing the details of 7,500 vehicles and the names and addresses of their owners had been lost in transit.

She announced steps to tighten up the security of personal data held by government agencies.

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Update via DarkReading

"In May this year, Pearson Driving Assessments Ltd, a private contractor to the Driving Standards Agency, informed the agency that a hard disk drive had gone missing from its secure facility in Iowa City, Iowa," Kelly said. "The hard disk drive contained the records of just over three million candidates for the driving theory test."

The records contained the driver's name, postal address, phone number, the test fee paid, the test center, a code indicating how the test was paid for, and an email address, Kelly said.

The lost hard drive was "formatted specifically to fit Pearson configuration" and therefore would not be easy for third parties to read, Kelly said. She did not give further details on the configuration, and the department did not say whether the data on the drive was encrypted.