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Losing Personal Info On A Laptop Could Get You Charged

Posted by Zonk on from the going-to-need-handcuffs dept.

E5Rebel writes "The UK's data protection watchdog has called for legislation that would punish corporate or government officials with access to the public's personal data ... who lose it. Unencrypted laptops with this personal information which are lost or stolen will see their owners facing criminal charges. 'HM Revenue and Customs is among the organisations that have recently suffered high profile data security breaches as a result of laptops being lost or stolen. The HMRC laptop containing taxpayer data was encrypted - but other organisations have often failed to encrypt their machines.'"

6 of 199 comments (clear)

  1. Somewhere it it's odd.. by StarfishOne · · Score: 4, Funny

    ..that a group of people who want to know more and more personal details about you, especially in the last 6 years,.. are now coming up with legislation that should help to take the privacy of people seriously.

  2. Re:Surely we should take intent into consideration by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Encrypting hard drives doesn't require any special abilities. Maybe a couple of brain cells.

    Maybe things are different over on that side of the pond.

  3. Re:Charges for stupidity... by gweihir · · Score: 2, Funny

    Hehe. Then I can add "Zerg", which (at least in WoW battelgounds) means one mass of fighters that is doing or looking for battle with another. Sample usage: "The alliance Zerg is at Iceblood."

    Also can be used as verb, "to zerg", which means both forces are basically trying to stop each other and nothing moves. Sample usage: "Everybody is zerging in here."

    --
    Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
  4. Re:Surely we should take intent into consideration by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Giving your identity information to a bank is optional ... You cannot choose not to provide that information to the US Government.

    I can and do actually, when I chose not to visit your silly country.

  5. Re:About Bloody Time by morgan_greywolf · · Score: 3, Funny

    Presumably he/she is American, in which case the answer is probably no. A lot of them also seem to have trouble distinguishing London from England. Don't be ridiculous! Everyone over here knows that London is in France!
    --
    My blog
  6. Re:About Bloody Time by oliverthered · · Score: 2, Funny

    rich people employ mercenaries, poor people employ terrorists.

    --
    thank God the internet isn't a human right.