Data security: Past, present and future

The loss by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) of two CDs containing 25 million child benefit details has changed the data security landscape forever. No longer is data security the exclusive and rather arcane preserve of spotty technology professionals or data protection lawyers. HMRC has thrust data security onto the front pages of the mainstream media and brought it very suddenly to the top of the political and commercial agendas of senior politicians and boards of directors. In this article, the author will outline the reasons behind the rise of data security as a front line issue and examine the lessons to be learnt from HMRC. He will analyse the different facets of data security risk and explore ways in which organisations can go about managing it. He will outline the attitude of regulators to data security and where regulatory developments are likely to take us. The final part of the article looks into the future, with particular focus on the emergence of privacy enhancing technologies.