Master of Disaster

The Crisis Lounge's very own Master of Disaster, Yasir, has put together a new Incident Database.

Date: 09/10/08
Location: Leicester, UK
Type: Report
Category: Pandemic Flu
Description: A vaccine is currently being tested which doctors believe could be vital to saving lives in the event of a flu pandemic.

A jab against one strain of avian flu, given years earlier, may "prime" the immune system to fight a wide range of bird flu strains.

Researchers believe that when a pandemic arrives, "pre-vaccinated" people could then be given a booster shot, and be protected far quicker.

Comment: Pandemic flu was called the ’gravest threat’ to the UK in a recent government study. If bird flu mutates allowing for rapid human-to-human transmission there are fears the virus could spread around the world in a matter of weeks.
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Date: 10/10/08
Location: London, UK
Type: Incident
Category: Data Loss / Reputation
Description: The MoD confirmed reports from its main IT provider, EDS that it has lost a 1TB portable hard drive from its secure site at Hook in Surrey.

The drive is said to contain information on the names, addresses, passport numbers, dates of birth and driving licence details of about 100,000 people.

This accounts for approximately half of the armed forces. According to protocols EDS Managing Director Sir Robert Fry, stated that as the device was in a secure site it is not required to be encrypted.

Knowledge of its loss became apparent during an inventory. EDS were unable to confirm when the device went missing.

Comment: This is a further example of the need to protect data. Protocols must state that devices will be encrypted even at secure sites.
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Date: 10/10/08
Location: London, UK
Type: Incident
Category: Data Loss / Reputation
Description: The theft of a Deloitte laptop last month contained the details of up to 100,000 pension scheme members.

The accountancy firm confirmed that the incident had taken place, when a thief stole a laptop from an employee’s bag.

The data includes names, National Insurance numbers and salaries of scheme members from companies such as BSkyB, Network Rail and British Transport Police.

Deloitte assured clients that the loss represents a "very low risk" of the details being accessed, due to their security measures, which include a start up password, operating system user ID/password authentication and encryption.

Comment: Thefts occur, but in this case the information seems to have been safeguarded. Although a reputational issue remains, the key aspect is the data was protected.
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