Digital records and data : a burning issue

In the following videos from BBC News is discussed an issue that has got more and more serious in recent years : the stealing of digital records. Thanks to the development of digital technologies, more and more records are nowadays numerical, and thus have to be numerically preserved. While it is really interesting for archivists as digital records demand little space to be stored, it is however more problematical than usual paper records since it can be robbed far easelier, often because these kinds of records can be moved out of work place by individuals.

Here are two exemples of such robbery : the first video is about governmental data stolen, the second one about patient records from a University Hospital.

 Blears PC theft 'alarming' :

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7460255.stm

Reporter : ' Details of Blears at cabinet arrived this morning expecting a telling off after the theft of her computer. The PM reminded the all cabinet to be careful with sensitive information. The machine was stolen from her office in Salford, thieves broke in through a window on saturday afternoon, it's told one confidential document and others that were restricted. None of the information would compromise National Security, but it should not have been on a constituancy computer.'

Shadow Home Secretary : 'There's been a report in the Government being very critical of civil servants who commit these kind of mistakes, in one case suspending one of them. If in fact ministers themselves are not following the protocoles which are laid down for their own guidance...'

Reporter : ' Ms. Blear's department says 'the PC did not contain any secret or top secret information, the contents are protected and this is now subject to a police investigation.' But a string of lapses by unidentified civil servants is one thing, but for a cabinet minister it is quite another.'

Patients' records stolen :

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/7481731.stm

In this video, a journalist report the theft of a laptop belonging to the Colchester University Hospital in the car of one of its managers. This laptop was containing thousands of patients records, information including names, dates of birth, post codes and hospital numbers. After this theft, patients whose information had been stolen were sent a letter from the Government explaining the situation.

The journalist interviews two people concerned in order to get their reaction : at first Peter Jones, astonished by the fact that such personnel information can be lost so easily, and who wants the Government to ' institute a real far review of the whole process, make sure that all the laptops involved are encrypted and forbid members of staff to take information away from the hospital in laptops.' The second is one of the victims' husband, who was horrified when the news came out. His wife and him are extremely worried that her identity could be stolen thanks to the data contained in the laptop.

The journalist finally says that what is really arduous for the Hospital is that the staff knew it was forbidden for them to keep these information on laptops. He then advice people who could be in such situations about what they could do.

N. Hermant.