NO2ID beats off ad complaint

"The advert has run since 2005"

It has? Then it's about time they got some of this kind of publicity for it.

Actually

The National Identity register won't hold that much at all just pointers, so to get any detailed information you would have to subvert more than just an IPS official, there are much easier ways to find out someone's name and address you know. I'd worry more about clampers. Experian and Equifax will hold far more data about you than IPS ever will, and they are much better at selling it that anyone else.

Also if you want a really detailed National ID Scheme try a few countries south east of Europe. I can think of one that's a real doozie.

Most of the idea's proposed initially have been found to be non-starters because of the DPA, and the fact that getting one government department to porvide information to another is impossible.

The evidence back No2ID

I'm sure I remember reading a story, probably here on el'Reg that a whole load people working on Australia's ID database were done for selling the information it contained.

How often does data leak from the Government?

@ Grease Monkey

***"When making a complaint to the ASA does the complainant have to declare any interest they may have?"***

They often do. Sky and Virgin Media are *always* having pops at each other courtesy of the ASA.

And the Police?

I'm sure I've seen stories about Police Officers abusing their access to the Police database.

@Dazed and Confused

Ask the train conductors, they'll know.

Privacy

To Mosh Jahan: Privacy nuts? I take great exception to the term it and makes me extremely angry to think that it's people like you who are allowing the UK to sleepwalk into a surveillance society. You may be interested to read a letter I wrote to the UK Web User magazine (who rated it as a "star" letter and gave me 25 quid for my trouble) in reply to a similar "nothing to hide" exponent, who also seemed to think there was nothing wrong with a private company "obtaining" private mobile phone numbers for a directory and that schemes like Phorm were perfectly OK. He also seemed to believe that people, in general, were getting paranoid about privacy. Quite likely. Couldn't agree more, and rightly so, in my opinion! The mag. also published several other letters in the same vein :

Re. "privacy panic" star mail in issue 219.

I really must take issue with the comments from Mr.Fletcher. Over-reaction? Paranoid sheep? Not at all. The word (which he has used himself) is PRIVACY! Some of us much prefer to have our personal details kept as just that - personal. The more information that is disseminated around the web, the more chance there is of it falling into the wrong hands. That is why I am also vehemently opposed to the government's misguided (in my opinion) ID card scheme. As has been admirably demonstrated in recent times, they just cannot be trusted to safeguard the public's personal information and I guess that, even now, the bad guys are already rubbing their hands together in glee with the prospect of rich pickings from every person in the UK when (not "if") the huge database is hacked - a prospect that fills me full of dread.

Everyone has a choice and, personally, I find the concept of "social networking" (as mentioned in the letter) a little weird. The idea of it leaves me stone cold, but if other folk are prone to laying their soul bare on these sites, so be it.

I would submit that the so-called "knee jerk" effect against such things as Phorm is perfectly justified, otherwise such undesirable schemes could end up being the thin end of a very thick wedge. The UK is already under siege from CCTV, car number plate readers, heavy-handed police intimidating hobbyist photographers, daft "political correctness" and illegal (according to the EU) DNA databases, not to mention the proposed routine eavesdropping on web traffic. I wonder where it will all end. My policy is not to give "them" any more ammunition to squirrel away for future use.

Incidentally, I presume that if a pay-as-you-go phone is purchased, there is no information to link a name with the number, so it follows that that there should be no need to "opt-out" of an on-line directory, as the information shouldn't be there in the first place. Also, avoid "registering" with your mobile phone service provider if you can. I had a problem with persistent gibberish text messages appearing on my phone that didn't appear to have originated from anybody and Vodaphone wouldn't help unless I registered my details with them. No thanks. The problem eventually went away.

The company that instigated the mobile directory scheme seems a little guarded about how they obtained the numbers, which should ring alarm bells.

Speaking personally, I instruct any companies I deal with that my personal details are NOT to be passed on to any third parties, and I take every measure I possibly can to ensure that they comply.

It was reported recently that: "The UK is sleep-walking into a surveillance society" and, sadly, that does appear to be the case. I would welcome anything that would reverse that trend.

Good but there are better ways

It's an okay advert, but if they really want to get their point across they should list the number of times government owned laptops filled with unsecured personal and/or security information have been left in taxis or airport departure gates over the last couple years.

The danger they highlight is no doubt real enough but even if it was supposed to reference low paid monkeys that fill in government databases, saying one might be corrupt is hardly a slur on all. They could reasonably argue that if you take any slice of any workforce in any industry you'll have the statistically same number of potential terrorists, murderers, child molesters, rapists and data thieves as anywhere else. Security checks? Funnily enough being willing to sell data to anyone isn't something that pops up unless you've been caught and were unlucky enough to have your prosecution data sent to someone who knew how correctly to enter your crime into the relevant databases.

@Mosh Jahan

Of course, you're right, there's never been a recorded case of the government losing unencrypted personal data on, let's pretend here, two CDs with no password, civil servants have never lost unencrypted laptops on trains, taxis, buses, airports or coffee shops. Police officers have never used their database to look up people for 'friends' and nobody in public service has ever taken a bribe. Members of the armed forces haven't ever lost laptops with personal and financial details of serving and prospective soldiers/airmen/sailors.

So you're obviously right, it's just scaremongering by privacy nuts who have this mad, crazy idea that they don't trust the government to keep their details private, never mind the ramifications of a database state where a mis-entered record could result in you being regularly investigated for being a tax evader or rapist or burglar etc.

I wouldn't worry though, the baying mob smearing dog shit on your door and pouring petrol through your letterbox after painting 'peedo scum' on your house will believe you when you tell them it's all a mistake on the database. They'll probably invite you out for a drink with them and there'll be hearty back slapping fun with your new friends.

You go right ahead mate, register and get your idiot card.

memory stick

why bother selling the info, just look around on the 5:15 from paddington

How safe is the database?

It doesn't need someone on the inside to sell of the data.

Just takes a dozy prat leaving his laptop on a train or posting out unencrypted CDs for it to fall into the wrong hands.

As Frankie Boyle said, when you loose this data, its harder to change it than a pin number. "I'll need new fingers and a retina transplant"