The UK's most up-to-date social housing and public sector news website
Missing council laptop 'contains personal details of 14,000 voters'
Other Local Government stories
- Council chiefs apologise for letting down teenagers who died
- Public sector 'wasting £25 billion a year' - report
- 'Dangerous, ugly and boring' Bradford named least-attractive city
- Six social workers sacked by Birmingham City Council
- Council chief warns £500 of rent arrears is 'tipping point to disaster'
Advertisement
A laptop computer containing personal data on more than 14,000
voters has gone missing from the offices of a local authority, it
emerged.
On the laptop were the names, addresses, dates of birth, signatures
and copies of scanned postal vote application forms and postal vote
statements used to confirm the identity of 14,673 voters.
The laptop went missing from the offices of St Albans City and
District Council in what is thought to have been an opportunistic
theft.
The data was protected by two levels of security, the council said,
but admitted there was a "slight risk" it could be accessed.
The local authority is writing to everyone affected to inform them
of the situation and the risks involved, a spokeswoman said.
All were residents who had applied to cast their votes by post at
the last elections held in the district on June 4.
European and council elections were held throughout Britain that
day.
Councillor Julian Daly, Conservative group leader at the council
and one of those whose details were on the missing laptop, said it
was "troubling" that someone was able to walk off with it.
He said: "That's all the information you need to set up a bank
account. It's classic identity theft territory.
"That is, assuming they can get at the data.
"It is troubling that the data was on a portable machine and it was
accessible for someone to walk off with it."
The council is working with the police and Northgate Information
Solutions, which manages its IT services, to investigate the
incident.
Daniel Goodwin, the council's chief executive, said: "I would like
to apologise to residents and reassure them that the council takes
its responsibility to look after their personal data very
seriously."
An internal investigation is also under way, which will determine
whether further security measures are required.
Name and address information is publicly available via the
electoral register, except where people have opted out, and no
details of votes cast were on the laptop, the council spokeswoman
added.
Three other laptops that are understood to hold no personal data
have also gone missing.
The Electoral Commission and the Information Commissioner's Office
have been informed.
Jaef
Commented 17 weeks ago
A number of issues come to mind:
1 The citizens have no redress - I suppose...? Should they have rights in these and similar circumstances...?
2 What common protocols exist for such information to be on a laptop...? Should the data be removed immediately after use on a laptop...?
3 Who do LA employers hold to account in such circumstances? Those who come to mind include the following: the data downloader, the data user, the security design officer of the building or location within it, the facilities management ...etc.