DVLA database compromised by animal rights extremists
The BBC reports that "DVLA man helped animal activists"
"A vehicle registration official who gave drivers' addresses to animal rights activists has been jailed for five months.
Barry Saul Dickinson, 34, of Manor Forstal, New Ash Green, Kent, was convicted at Stafford Crown Court of misconduct in a public office.
He had enabled protesters to find people connected to a guinea pig farm in Staffordshire.
A police spokesman said information had been used to "terrorise" families."
Just as with the case of the corrupt Metropolitan police constable Ghazi Kassim, the question must be asked, why this person was not charged under Section 58 of the Terrorism Act - Collection of Information ?
"58. - (1) A person commits an offence if-
(a) he collects or makes a record of information of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism, or
(b) he possesses a document or record containing information of that kind.
(2) In this section "record" includes a photographic or electronic record."
Why is he not serving a 10 year jail sentence instead of 5 months ?
Despite the media hype, Al Quaeda are not the only terrorist threat that we face, the particularly nasty minority of so called animal rights extremists are also a terroist threat, albeit on a smaller scale.
The Driver Vehicle Licensing Authority database is also routinely handed over to insurance companies and to the London Congestion Charge scheme to enforce its Automatic Number Plate Recognition system. The chances are that this data is available for a fee on the backstreets of Bangalore in India, which is where Capita, the notorious Government IT sub-contractor has outsiurced all its database software development, in order to exploit cheap labour in India.
Comments
It had to happen sooner or later.
One wonders when the reprecussions will hit.....
5 mnths in the nick, is really laughable.
It appears that the government is not really concerned about the welfare of the people, whose id have been compromised.
Is civial war looming over the horizon?
Posted by: john | November 18, 2004 2:36 PM
Here are some more similar stories:
Friday June 4, 2004
The Guardian
18 months for ex-policeman
Ex-police officer David Nutton, 38, of Newport, Isle of Wight, was at Winchester yesterday jailed for 18 months for passing information from a police computer to a paedophile friend. He admitted a charge of gross misconduct in office.
[Can't find the URL for that one but the case is covered here:
http://www.iwcp.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=1252&ArticleID=805572]
BBC Online
Tuesday, 13 July, 2004
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/3890789.stm
Police staff spied on boyfriends
A major security alert began at an east London police station when two workers used its criminal database to check up on their boyfriends, a court heard.
Covert police operations in Hackney were suspended after the breach was discovered at Stoke Newington station.
The Observer
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/magazine/story/0,11913,1355883,00.html
Death before dishonour (on 'honour killings' in the UK)
"Jack and Zena ended up in Grimsby, where someone at the DSS leaked their whereabouts"
I've found that the "leaky database is a terrorists', gangsters' or abusive ex-husbands' dream" line goes down very well in debates against the "nothing to hide means nothing to fear" brigade.
Posted by: Chris Williams | November 23, 2004 10:58 PM
Don't forget the Inland Revenue staff who do not actually get prosecuted for illegally looking up and selling the tax details of celebrities or family members etc.
http://www.computerweekly.com/Article118671.htm
Computer Weekly
Thursday 16 January 2003
by Tony Collins
"Revenue staff break data law by snooping on stars"
"Last year [2002] the Revenue took disciplinary action, including dismissal, against staff in 226 cases of computer misuse. Although staff sign the Official Secrets Act, and face criminal proceedings for breaches of the Data Protection Act, there have been only two prosecutions for computer misuse."
Posted by: wtwu | November 23, 2004 11:08 PM