And, Of Course, UK ID Card Database Abused

from the and-so-it-goes dept

It's been pointed out time and time again, that if a government (or a corporation) puts together a big database of information on people, that database will be abused. It's just what happens. Yet, with the UK gov't looking to store (or have ISPs store for it) all sorts of info, it's worth noting that its current ID card database was apparently being abused to look up info on celebrities. Yes, the people doing the snooping were apparently caught and fired, but it still highlights that these sorts of databases are never really private, and someone with access will always try to use them for purposes beyond what was intended.
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: abuse, database, uk


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 8 Jun 2009 @ 6:40pm

    It happens. If it was all on paper cars in a filing cabinet, someone would sneak in to read it. It isn't technology, it's people, lay the blame where it belongs.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 8 Jun 2009 @ 7:13pm

      Re:

      The point is that they shouldn't be keeping all this data where it can be abused in the first place.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      Mike Masnick (profile), 8 Jun 2009 @ 7:32pm

      Re:

      It happens. If it was all on paper cars in a filing cabinet, someone would sneak in to read it. It isn't technology, it's people, lay the blame where it belongs.

      Indeed. Of course it happens. But the problem is that the gov't thinks it's okay to collect more and more data, assuming it doesn't happen. The problem isn't the technology -- it's the gov't wanting to collect more data.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    CleverName, 8 Jun 2009 @ 6:54pm

    Vroooom

    Do the paper cars make noise while driving around in the filing cabinet

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    CopyJosh (profile), 8 Jun 2009 @ 8:21pm

    The government already has it...

    It's not that the government doesn't already have this information, it's the means by which they are keeping this information. Having this information stored at the ISPs sounds pretty insecure, but as always, everyone needs to be monitored by everyone so it's a good sign that this was nipped in the bud. I don't honestly see anything wrong with a "national id scheme" (sounds a little biased against it) after all, what's different between that an a social security number? Again, the means by which the information is secured.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Teka, 8 Jun 2009 @ 10:52pm

      Re: The government already has it...

      The Social Security number system is actually a good example of whats wrong with government tacking piles of data together.

      Originally, it was a simple worker-tracking scheme, implemented to make sure that people received the SocSec compensation they had been promised in accordance to the amount of time they worked. In fact, if I remember correctly, there were, and perhaps still are, laws in place surrounding the system explicitly preventing the use of your SS number as any other kind of ID or tracking system.

      Now we have companies asking for your SS on any kind of form they can think of, to be used, abused or improperly accessed by anyone, right along with (my own experience) public schools using SocSec as Student numbers, given to everyone from the principal to lunch ladies right along with the student's name, address and the like. Could things like this also explain the Hugely growing trend of illegal SS# use by illegal aliens?

      And now with the National ID plans, and counterparts around the world, Governments (and companies right behind them)are putting together even more towering lists of your personal details all tied back to a single number string. More details to be data mined, stolen, improperly added-to and of course kept secret from you.

      More Information = More Abuse, which is amplified the moment these databases get online.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Mechwarrior, 9 Jun 2009 @ 6:39am

    Also consider what happens when your SSN is stolen. Its not pretty. Now imagine every piece of information about you stolen. That will definitely not be fun.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Yosi, 10 Jun 2009 @ 1:42am

      Re:

      If you ask Mike, information can not be "stolen", right? It's
      "infinite good", right?
      So feel free to use his SSN any time you please.

      link to this | view in chronology ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.