Fears for our personal data as 80 government laptops missing
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Friday February 08 2008
HACKERS are targeting state departments for sensitive information. More than 80 government laptops have been stolen or are missing, raising fears about the protection of confidential data.
The Irish Independent has learned the laptops and computers have been lost or stolen over the past five years, triggering concerns sensitive information may be vulnerable.
Four government-controlled websites were also recently the victim of cyber-attacks and telephone hacking incidents.
A garda investigation is under way in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, which experienced four "noteworthy hacking or cyber-attacks".
The Department of Transport was the subject of a "malicious security breach" and is blocking an average of 50 inappropriate attempts to connect to its systems every week.
Controversies
The revelation follows the recent controversies in Britain over the loss of three laptops from the Ministry of Defence and two discs containing personal data of millions of people.
Last night, department officials insisted no sensitive or confidential information was compromised during the catalogue of incidents between 2002 and 2007.
However, Fine Gael said it would be "catastrophic" if criminals got their hands on confidential information stored by government departments.
The incidents also include the loss or theft of 19 Blackberrys and 10 memory keys.
In the Department of Social and Family Affairs -- which has responsibility for social welfare payments -- five laptops were stolen on public transport and in house and car break-ins.
According to the Department of Defence, two desktop computers belonging to the Defence Forces were stolen last year during the UNMIL mission to Liberia and were not recovered.
A non-networked laptop computer went missing during a visit associated with humanitarian relief to countries hit by the December 2005 tsunami.
Another was stolen in 2004 during a mission to Georgia.
Last year, 12 laptops belonging to the Department of the Environment were stolen from the Custom House and another was stolen while in transit. Ten were immediately recovered, nine of which were obsolete and had been prepared for recycling.
The three laptops missing from the Taoiseach's office did not contain sensitive State information, a spokesman said last night. One was used for presentations, while the other two were remote access laptops.
In 2003, 25 new computers belonging to the Department of Foreign Affairs were stolen from temporary offices in Brussels. An individual who had been working on contract in the department later received a four-year suspended sentence for the theft of eight laptops.
While passwords were required to access the devices and emails were later wiped by the departments, computer experts have raised concerns about the loss of information contained on USB keys.
Many departments are examining encryption software to enhance security.
The incidents revealed to Fine Gael in parliamentary questions include cyber-attacks on four Government-controlled websites in recent years.
Last night, the Department of Social and Family Affairs confirmed it was the victim of a telephone hacking incident, while the Department of Finance saw one of its website pages overwritten by a cyber-hack.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Social and Family Affairs said its laptops could be used for remote access to departmental data, but the information is not retained on the device following access.
Investigation
The revelations follow an earlier investigation by the Irish Independent, which revealed staff in the Department of Social Welfare illegally accessed citizens' private information.
Last night, a leading expert on data protection law said the more public servants who can access the data, the more likely something will go wrong.
Professor Robert Clark of UCD said "human error" can account for most data breaches.
Fine Gael's Damien English said because the government is the "guardian" of public information, it must do its utmost to keep apace with ICT security developments worldwide.
"It would be catastrophic if criminals were able to get their hands on confidential information like names, addresses, PPS and dates of births that would lead to massive potential fraud," he said.
- Aine Kerr Political Correspondent
