Response to many posts
@AC - Be fair chaps
[quote]Probably some of those 29 million are the same record being lost again...and again and again....[/quote]
May well be but, as it’s from a different department, there is, very likely to be, extra data from the records lost that will enhance better ID fraud based on all the previous data this government has decided to give away.
One might believe that this is a deliberate tactic to further the establishment of even more draconian rules that tout the necessity of an ID database so that any personal data “in the wild” can be matched against it in order to stop the terrorists playing out their destruction of the non-complicit with their view.
@Aetyr - Of course they lost it...
[quote]Yes, the current government believes that it is impossible to crack a Windows password, despite there being hundreds of freely downloadable tools on the intarwebnets which will do just that.[/quote]
Absolutely correct. And if you can't be bothered to seek the tools just boot up WinPE on a CD and the access the data without worrying about finding a password. I believe this doesn't apply to Vista though - but I will test that theory tomorrow.
@Jim - Re: Yet another reason against socialism...
[quote]Yeah, cos the private sector is so much better at keeping peoples details safe...[/quote]
The private sector may not be that much better, but as soon as a punter finds out that the company they use has screwed up they can change allegiances, within a few days. The same is not true for government - this is one of the myriad of reasons why allowing government the power over personal data is a complete nightmare and ultimately will lead to the destruction of our democracy.
I do wonder why there are so many Register news items that basically expose our current government’s “no nothing bonzo” strategy on decent IT, especially, when ultimately, it will lead to their downfall – it’s nonsensical; however, perhaps, this video (http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=3664960863576873594) may provide some kind of insight – but then again it may not. Who knows?
Also I wonder why The Register is not digging deeper; are their journalist too scared?