Shostack + Friends Blog Archive

 

Big Brother Watch report on breaches

Over at the Office of Inadequate Security, Dissent says everything you need to know about a new report from the UK’s Big Brother Watch:

Extrapolating from what we have seen in this country, what the ICO learns about is clearly only the tip of the iceberg there. I view the numbers in the BBW report as a significant underestimate of the number of breaches that actually occurred because not only are we not hearing from 9% of entities, but many authorities that did report probably did not detect or learn of all of the breaches they actually experienced. BBC notes, “For example, it does seem surprising that in 263 local authorities, not even a single mobile phone or memory stick was lost.” “Surprising” is a very diplomatic word. (“What They Didn’t Know: Big Brother Watch report on breaches highlights why we need mandatory disclosure“)