Government data leak could be a matter of life and death

AIt is well known, the British Civil Service has a lot of employeesAnd a significant proportion of them are also members of the Civil Service Sports and Social Club. These active, outgoing types are well used to receiving correspondence about upcoming events, matches and the administration of their club. But sometime in August 2023, he was sent an email that included officially sensitive data about the number of Afghan civilians are looking for asylum Britain followed the fall of the Kabul government two years ago, when allied efforts to stop the Taliban ultimately failed.

unfortunately, like Independent Turns out, it’s far from the only one gross violation of privacy Which has potentially put life at risk in a tragic way. Another unexpected leak was caused by an official leaving them open laptop in trainExamples have also emerged of WhatsApp being used to share personal data unsecured, and flight manifestos have also emerged containing details of Afghans arriving in the UK. All are serious cases, and some may be life-threatening.

In the most severe case, the spreadsheet contains at least personal and contact details. 18,700 Afghans had applied to come to Britain under Arap (Afghan Rehabilitation and Assistance Policy) and inadvertently sent individuals outside the official systems through a predation scheme – with potentially fatal consequences; a piece of research It is learned that 49 people may have lost their lives as a result.

That’s the story – with the next decision to grant asylum The cases of these Afghans were swept under the rug by authorities for years, regardless of the merits of individual claims. Continuous lobbying and legal proceedings by Independent Ultimately they succeeded in bringing the entire scam into the public domain with widespread dismay.

But the more that is revealed about this scandal, the worse it becomes – and more questions need to be asked about the way British authorities deal with data. It sounds like a dry debate, but, as the Afghan saga proves, it can be a matter of life and death.

It is particularly poignant, and shameful, that so many Afghans who fought alongside American and British forces – including the Afghan version of the SAS – should have been so cruelly refused asylum, or had their details accidentally leaked to potential enemies. Independent Proud to be campaigning to free these brave ex-soldiers almost certain death and torture At the hands of the Taliban, but many are also disappointed that the process has been both flawed and chaotic.

The Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Defense recently said he would leave his post following the scandal – but it is not clear whether this will be enough to force the change in culture that is clearly needed in the civil service. One glaring aspect of the biggest data leak is that a civilian official of the Defense Ministry did not understand how tabs can be hidden in an Excel spreadsheet.

Of course, risks regarding data security have increased in the digital age. This was evident almost 20 years ago, when two computer disks – at a time when physical storage was still necessary – were sent unencrypted and lost in transit between the HMRC center in Washington, Tyneside, and the National Audit Office in London. The disk contained personal data of all 10 million recipients of child benefit, as well as 15 million children, including their names, addresses, dates of birth, National Insurance numbers and, in some cases, bank details. It seems that this particular fund was lost forever and was never earmarked for nefarious purposes. But in 2007, the lesson that should have never been lost was also rapidly forgotten.

Nowadays, cyber attacks have become routine in the public and private sectors, causing huge economic losses. Recent attack on Jaguar Land RoverFor example, it has been independently estimated to have cost £2 billion. If true, it would make it the most expensive in UK history – a measurable hit.

A clear conclusion can be drawn from the series of incidents of data breaches and cyber attacks in recent years Labour’s proposed digital ID card scheme It would need to be so well designed that it would be practically impossible to hack, and somehow immunized from the risks arising from data being “dropped onto the bus”. Otherwise, the consequences of such an event would be too terrible to contemplate – as they may have already proven to some of the West’s Afghan allies.