Dear silicon.com... <em>More</em> data breaches and Google vs Wikipedia…

Reader Comments of the Week

What's got silicon.com readers reaching for their keyboards this week? Reader Comments of the Week showcases how our users are responding to the latest tech news and views on the site...

What? More lost data?
Data breach hits thousands of motorists

So basically it's a shopping list for a car thief so they can steal to order and plan their thefts in comfort instead of having to wander around in the cold night air and of course now the data is (possibly) in the public domain then the DVLA can't sell it to third parties for as much as they would want.

Our data may as well be worn on a placard round our neck once HMG has it ..
-- Karen Challinor, UK

It would have been better really if they had sold this information to criminal organisations. At least criminals are motivated to keep it secure, for fear lest its free availability reduces its market value.
-- CPK Smithies, Dorset, UK

It's nothing to do with the DP [Data Protection] Act. It's to do with having an effective management system.
-- Andrew Bedford, Gloucestershire

Drivers hit again…
Millions of L-driver details "gone missing"

The fact that we are suddenly seeing more and more incidents of data loss highlights a fundamental problem within both businesses and government institutions - they are not taking the issue of data security seriously enough.
-- Matt Fisher, Swindon, UK

No one seems to have asked what this data doing in Iowa, USA. I thought that EU Data Protection laws meant that data could not be exported to the USA without permission because of their different data protection standards.
-- Mike Grenville, Forest Row, UK

How can you lose something from inside a 'secure facility'!?! Surely this must mean that it was actually a 'not so secure facility'. Nothing more to say really other than...what a surprise!

Another apology and off they go again...losing some more of our data!
-- Richard Davies, North Yorkshire

Don't blame the government. Though I'd love to kick them while they are down, it's not their fault this time, but of sloppy, lazy IT people, and managers with no imagination, or concept of risk.

Even my (tiny) company's management reports are encrypted before emailing. And data needs far more care - since misuse can have an effect out of all proportion to its internal value.
-- Tim Roberts, Hampshire

Nothing changes - people are still the biggest security risk in any sort of operation.
-- Roger Huffadine, Worcester UK

The recent spate of data breaches illustrates just how vigilant both companies and consumers need to be when dealing with personal data. Twenty or so years ago losing a hard disk drive containing citizen information would not have been possible without a truck. But today, with the portability of vast quantities of data coupled with the sophistication and evolution of fraudsters, we all need to be on our guard both from a business and personal perspective.
-- Bart Patrick, Head of Risk, SAS, Marlow

Editor's choice

silicon.com editor Steve Ranger flags up his picks on the site this week...

♦ Photos of the year
♦ Tech Visions: Wireless sale of the century
♦ Stories of the year
♦ Whose data is it anyway?
♦ Video Cheat Sheet: Biometrics

Google's knoll
Google develops 'web 2.0' encyclopaedia

Why are Google attempting to fix something that isn't broken? They are in danger of following Microsoft's trend of losing innovative edge and jumping on passing bandwagons with more capital than their originators.

Making open-source competitors to proprietary products is one thing, but what is the logic of starting a new encyclopaedia from scratch when the "public" stand to gain more by Google investing their tools and knowledge in the established Wikipedia.
-- Christopher Hubbard, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

It should be an interesting clash of paradigms. On one hand, the grass-roots level, not for profit, distributed, open-source, mass participation, viral, cultural emblematic incumbent, vs a corporate with limitless cash. Interesting to see the contest this way round for a change.
-- Haydn Rees, Eindhoven, Netherlands

What a surprise…
Gov't not trusted with public data

The 'key' is the key with data encryption - If the data is going to be useful and accessible then there will be so many keys that the encryption is compromised. There is no such thing as totally secure data unless you loose the encryption key and then it gets a bit tricky.....
-- Roger Huffadine, Worcester UK

Good article, sadly it won't change a damn thing. There will be some staged event (if no natural ones occur) to divert the public's attention then a couple of weeks down the line HMG will be wanting to increase detention for terror suspects, bring ID cards forward with compulsory registration, have satellite tracking of all road vehicles, provide rules, regulations fines and taxes while they still use stone age technology for their internal workings
-- Karen Challinor, UK

Please note, comments may be edited for clarity, grammar and spelling. The views expressed are not necessarily the views of silicon.com. You can write to silicon.com by posting a Reader Comment below, or emailing editorial@silicon.com.