>>>>>You can't imagine how this sort of thing can happen
>>>>>
>>>>>http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=495188&in_page_id=1770&ct=5
>>>>
>>>>? Things being lost in transit by couriers? I find that all too easy to imagine.
>>>>
>>>>I guess we'll find out how good the encryption was ...
>>>
>>>I'm willing to wager its not even encrypted in any serious way.
>>
>>
>>Spot on Jols. The best we can hope for here is that this is literally lost in the post.
>
>Details on 25 million people; thats probably worth somewhere above US$250 million to the cybercrimmnals who resell this type of info. You're talking about more people than live in Holland or Australia, an entire country! The amateurs who lost this data should go to jail.
>
>This is exactly why government, any government, should not be allowed to collect vast amounts of peoples personal information unless they are also prepared to bear the costs and responsibility associated with its loss. Yes, I know, but I'm allowed to dream...

The fact systems aren't in place to properly control the data in house means any criminal organisation could recruit someone with no previous record, get them to apply for a job and then harvest the data. This has already happened at some call centres where criminals have been able to capture credit card and account details.