Sep 08 2008
Prison Concern
Prison Officers are a much-maligned group of people. The image most of us have of them probably comes from TV shows such as the wonderful “Porridge”. The reality is, of course, somewhat different. There are few inmates like Norman Stanley Fletcher and fewer prison officers like Mr. MacKay in our prisons today. The task of prison officer requires a combination of diplomat, social worker and enforcer. As prisons become more and more overcrowded, facilities are stretched and tensions rise. I can think of one group of people who must have been very relieved that Britain did not experience a long hot summer this year.
As I prepare for a prison visit this afternoon, I can’t help thinking about the potentially awful consequences for prison staff by the loss of data containing their details. Much has been said about the delay between the time of the data loss and the time of it coming to the attention of Ministers. This is worrying, but what is of greater concern to me is the potential risk to prison staff from unscrupulous and determined criminals. I don’t want to be apocalyptic, but the often-heard threat of “I know where you live” sounds more threatening today.
The Government’s abject failure to manage our prisons has been made even worse by this latest news.
2 responses so far
Hi Rob,
Government departments should have networks set up where people can move data amongst themselves (with the right priveledges) easily without the data ever moving data onto physical media.
Likewise, for moving data in/out of the organisation, this should be done via means such as secure FTP where the data is encrypted in transit (preferably with private, dedicated lines).
I suspect that the reason that people are using memory sticks is that there is an overly bureaucratic process for changing the setup for new transfers, or for new backups, so instead take a DIY approach with memory sticks and CDs.
Hi Tim,
I am sure that you are right about the reason for the use of memory sticks by civil servants and those contracted to do work for Government departments or agencies.
The use of secure lines makes a lot of sense. What would the cost implications be, do you think, of such a development?