When we deal with a government department we are required by law to hand over various items of personal information. In return, the government lays down strict guidelines to ensure that this information is kept secure - or so we believe.
The Auditor General has just blown the whistle on the short comings on how personal information may be leaked from insecure departments - and in passing into unauthorised hands - may be used for identity theft.
The government implemented a codicil that government departments are required to implement to keep personal information secure. It seems that two thirds of such departments have taken no steps to set this in place, and others have only partly achieved implementation.
What is absolutely damning is the revelation that the state government has no protocol in place to determine if or whether this edict has been implemented. As a result, the security of information held in the public domain is an unknown factor.
When identity theft occurs there is usually the suggestion that the individual is at least partially responsible by being careless. It seems that even the most careful are being let down by the very agencies who have a legal right to make us disclose what can lead to our financial downfall !
This is certainly a matter to ponder when the next state election approaches !
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