Sensitive information for shooting down intercontinental missiles as well as bank details and NHS records was found on old computers, researchers say.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/8036324.stm

How many more times is 'sensitive' data going to go missing before someone realises something needs to be done?

Or even worse, how long before it finds its way into the wrong hands, if it hasn't already.

Why does this not surprise me at all?

+ 1

where I work (NHS) when computers (Dell) hard drives fail or go wrong Dell send a replacement and the old drive gets physical destroyed - I think they get melted in the furnace or crushed or both

so you never going to get any information of that or plug it into any other computer again

BTW

no one said if they just plugged the drives in and the information was there or they used software to find whats on the disk

I am surprised that the missile documents where not on an encrypted drive

or have I missed some thing

Mark

If what I saw on TV was to be believed ( cynic ) then they were using recovery software.

You missed the fact that the government and its agencies have no clue about security, despite the hugely embarrassing lapses over the last couple of years. I’d be surprised if the data WAS on an encrypted drive, given the track record.

Dad works for the MOD, he has a laptop and a PDA thingy, and the security is stupid since some idiots have left things places...
Laptops can't be left in cars, they must travel in a locked (cloth ) bag, when they are travelling in the car they much be in the boot locked away...

It's stupid and sometimes impractical, because a few idiots weren't a little more careful...

but from the fact that it was a missile test etc I thought it be American government or a American company

All the lap tops I look after and use in the NHS are encrypted and desk top are being done soon - some places where its semi public departments are getting cable locks for them too

Mark

There should be systems in place to ensure the destruction of these pieces of equipment, rather than being sold on or forgotten about. Everytime a company needs to buy new HDD to replace an old one, the old one must be destroyed in some way.

Unfortunately, the only way the Govt. will learn is when someone uses this to their advantage and disaster strikes.

'The missile system was designed and built by US defence group Lockheed Martin and the same computer hard disk also revealed security policies and blueprints of facilities at the group, and personal information on employees.'

And if you think that makes them sound dangerous:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/05/03/gchq_mti/