The UK Foreign Office has been slammed for breaching the Data Protection Act after a probe by the Information Commissioner into a security flaw on a website used by people applying for UK visas.
The Information Commissioner's Office launched an investigation after being alerted in May to the security error on the UKvisas website provided by VFS Global, a commercial partner of the joint Foreign Office and Home Office agency, UKVisas.
The security hole meant that the personal data of people applying for visas to enter the UK was visible to other website users.
Independent investigators, led by Linda Costelloe Baker, have also probed the security breach, painting a damning picture of "organizational failures" by both the government agency and its contractor.
The investigation strongly criticized UKVisas' outsourcing of the online service to a firm that is not an IT specialist, the contractor's performance and the failure to respond adequately when the security hole was first revealed in December 2005.
The ICO based its ruling on the findings of the Costelloe Baker report.
But the watchdog body stopped short of slapping an enforcement notice on the Foreign Office, opting instead to require the department to sign a formal undertaking to comply with Data Protection Act principles in future.
Failure to meet the terms of the undertaking was likely to lead to further enforcement action, the ICO said.
Mick Gorrill, assistant commissioner at the ICO, said: "Organizations have a duty under the Data Protection Act to keep our personal information secure. If organizations fail to take this responsibility seriously, they not only leave individuals vulnerable to identity theft but risk losing individuals' confidence and trust. We investigate any organization in breach of the Act and will not hesitate to take appropriate action."
The undertaking commits the Foreign Office to scrapping the VFS online application website and replacing it with the visa4UK online application service -- a commitment already made by foreign secretary David Miliband.
UKvisas must also carry out a strategic review of data processing and a detailed audit of its data security procedures, regularly monitor the security of the visa4UK website and provide continuing data protection training to UKvisas staff, the document stipulates.
Read up on the latest ideas and technologies from companies that sell hardware, software and services. - White PaperView this webcast and discover the drivers for changing network design practices, why many organisations are changing their approach to network architecture and how enterprises should be moving forward with open architecture multi-vendor network solutions. Register now and learn how your business can maximize the business value of the enterprise network.
- White PaperJoin Lee Benjamin, a Microsoft Exchange MVP and Ryan Shipkowski, network administrator for Matthews, to discuss the process and ROI of implementing an email archiving solution, with emphasis on a case study from Matthews International.
- White PaperDiscover how the integration of disparate technologies in your company can lead to greater user productivity, improved management, lower costs, higher efficiency, and easier risk mitigation.
Discover how SOA can create smarter outcomes for your business.
Attend and learn:
- How SOA is helping leading companies to become more agile
- Where you should be applying SOA processes in your company
- The top SOA implementation mistakes to avoid
Click here for more information.
- +
CIO Live Podcast #79: Brent D Taylor, author of The Outsider's Edge: The Making of Self-Made Billionaires Part II 05 October, 2007 06:00:00
For his new book, The Outsider's Edge: The Making of Self-Made Billionaires, social researcher Brent D Taylor spent four years of intensive research investigating the psychological make-up and backgrounds of some of the world's richest men and women, including IT luminaries Bill Gates, Larry Ellison and Steve Jobs. Taylor discovered that, despite working in different industries and coming from different upbringings, they all have one thing in common -- they are all outsiders. - +
CIO Live Podcast #78: Brent D Taylor, author of The Outsider's Edge: The Making of Self-Made Billionaires 28 September, 2007 17:34:25
For his new book, The Outsider's Edge: The Making of Self-Made Billionaires, social researcher Brent D Taylor spent four years of intensive research investigating the psychological make-up and backgrounds of some of the world's richest men and women, including IT luminaries Bill Gates, Larry Ellison and Steve Jobs. Taylor discovered that, despite working in different industries and coming from different upbringings, they all have one thing in common -- they are all outsiders. - +
CIO Live Podcast #77: Panasonic Speeds Up Trans-Pacific File Transfers, Part III 21 September, 2007 07:00:00
Part three in our three-part special report from CIO's sister publication Network World in the US, as Paul Desmond reports from the Network World IT Roadmap Conference in Santa Clara, California. With development teams in the US and Japan, Panasonic needed a more efficient way to move very large files between the two locations. Iben Rodriguez, IT consultant for Panasonic Research and Development, explains how a storage-area network and virtual server technology helped speed up WAN performance. - +
CIO Live Podcast #76: Panasonic Speeds Up Trans-Pacific File Transfers, Part II 14 September, 2007 07:00:00
Part two in our three-part special report from CIO's sister publication Network World in the US, as Paul Desmond reports from the Network World IT Roadmap Conference in Santa Clara, California. With development teams in the US and Japan, Panasonic needed a more efficient way to move very large files between the two locations. Iben Rodriguez, IT consultant for Panasonic Research and Development, explains how a storage-area network and virtual server technology helped speed up WAN performance. - +
CIO Live Podcast #75: Panasonic Speeds Up Trans-Pacific File Transfers, Part I 07 September, 2007 07:00:05
Part one in our three-part special report from CIO's sister publication Network World in the US, as Paul Desmond reports from the Network World IT Roadmap Conference in Santa Clara, California. With development teams in the US and Japan, Panasonic needed a more efficient way to move very large files between the two locations. Iben Rodriguez, IT consultant for Panasonic Research and Development, explains how a storage-area network and virtual server technology helped speed up WAN performance.
- +
Virtually every Windows PC at risk, says Secunia 04 December, 2008 08:00:00
Almost all PCs scanned by patch tool have an unpatched app; 46% have 11-plus.More than 98% of Windows computers harbor at least one unpatched application, and nearly half contain 11 or more programs at risk from attack, a Danish security company said Wednesday. - +
US Open used Web filtering to prevent online gambling 03 December, 2008 07:44:00
USTA took security measure to retain "squeaky clean" imageThe US Open tennis tournament provides network access for the players, guests and media, but this past summer the association running the event took an extra security step to make sure access wasn't too open. - +
CBS website bitten by iFrame hack 02 December, 2008 07:30:00
Russian malware distributors have launched another iFrame attack on a sub-domain of the cbs.com site.TV network CBS has become the latest big name to have it website used to host malware, a security company has reported. - +
Excerpt: Counterterrorism Strategies for Corporations 27 November, 2008 12:36:00
Mike Ackerman calls terrorism "the skunk at the globalization lawn party." His new book lays out 10 principles for how businesses can prepare and respond.Mike Ackerman calls terrorism "the skunk at the globalization lawn party." His new book lays out 10 principles for how businesses can prepare and respond. - +
The 10 Ackerman Principles of Counterterrorism 27 November, 2008 12:43:00
Consultant and author Mike Ackerman's 10 counterterrorism principles for business.Consultant and author Mike Ackerman's 10 counterterrorism principles for business.
Charles Sturt University Commences Unified Communications Deployment With Interactive Intelligence 04 December, 2008 08:30:00
AOC Launches 18.5” Widescreen Green 16:9 LCD Monitor in Australia and New Zealand 03 December, 2008 15:30:00
FrontRange Solutions eases software license management with new License Manager 3.0 03 December, 2008 14:56:00
Progress Software's Cure for Managing Services-based Applications 03 December, 2008 14:42:00
Informatica Powercenter added to Nec Infoframe Solution Suite 03 December, 2008 11:36:00
|
||
|
||
|
|
||
|
Best Practice in Building an Integrated Information Management Strategy
Discover the business value that creating an integrated information platform can bring. Learn how to provide consistent, accurate information to all stakeholders within your business network. Integrate vital data from disparate sources and deliver a trusted information foundation. Read on to uncover the stepping-stones to your new information management strategy.
Buying Guides
