With the recent Sony and other such breaches that has allow for the download of
ID: 3693988 • Letter: W
Question
With the recent Sony and other such breaches that has allow for the download of a variety of types of data including celebrity personal information as well as intellectual property, let's consider these items and provide your comments:
Hackers that break into systems and disrupt web site services: Are they criminals, or are they heroes helping computer specialists discover faults within computer networks and systems?
Can the U.S. government really stop advanced encryption techniques from falling into the hands of criminals?
Explanation / Answer
Hackers may have obtained login details for a key government website used by millions of people, it emerged last night.
Rogue software secretly placed on people's home computers could harvest personal details from the Government Gateway website.
Millions of people are registered to the website, but it is not clear whether any details have been obtained by the hackers. However, the Cabinet Office insist no data has been breached.
The site allows Britons to administer numerous public aspects of their lives, from applying for passports to paying income tax.
Cyber-security experts warned that ID fraud gangs could potentially use information to obtain drivers licence, passport and NI numbers that could be used to claim benefits or get migrants jobs
A Cabinet Office spokesman insisted: 'No data on the Government Gateway has been breached or leaked in any way. The Government has stepped up its efforts, investing £860 million in a National Cyber Security Programme, but it is essential that everyone knows how to protect themselves.'
Labour's Shadow Digital Minister Louise Haigh told The Sun: 'This potentially vast breach of the data and personal information of thousands of individuals is pretty frightening.
'The Government Gateway data includes such sensitive personal information as the details of child maintenance payments, state pensions and individuals on the childminder register.
'Remarkably, it is not clear if the Government even knows the extent of the breach or which individuals have been the victim of malware and have made no commitment to doing anything to put it right.
'Ministers should urgently write to all users of the service telling them about the breach and advising them on how to change their passwords to they can keep their sensitive personal information safe.'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3309826/Now-hackers-target-government.html#ixzz46rJ2AlZz
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