What Britain’s worst data breaches say about Government plans for a digital ID system

The UK government is considering introducing a mandatory digital ID that would make us all reliant on a digital pass to go about our daily lives.

Just last month, MPs slammed the Government over concerns it is failing to implement all recommendations from a review of eleven major data breaches.

The question is not if a database holding everything from identity data to biometrics will be breached, but when. If a mandatory digital ID becomes reality and a centralised population-wide database is formed, it would create a honeypot for hackers, putting the privacy, safety, and dignity of millions at risk.

A series of unfortunate events

A Cabinet Office review into eleven major data breaches over recent years lays bare just how routinely the public sector mishandles sensitive information.

In a case widely dubbed the ‘Afghan data leak’, a defence official inadvertently leaked the personal information of 19,000 Afghans, some of whom helped British forces as interpreters, putting their lives irrevocably at risk – as well as over 100 British officials, including members of Special Forces and MI6.

The Government scrambled to hide this information from the public and issued an unprecedented legal gagging order that banned the press from even reporting on this issue.

In 2023, a serious data breach occurred in which the personal details of nearly 10,000 officers serving in the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and staff were accidentally published online. This breach included those working in sensitive roles, putting their lives and families at risk.

In a particularly distressing case this year, the personal details of almost 200 survivors of abuse in the Church of England were exposed in a data leak through a compensation scheme that was set up to support victims.

Meanwhile, the Legal Aid Agency breach saw highly sensitive data, including names, addresses, national insurance numbers, and criminal history, accessed by unauthorised parties. Some records date as far back as 2010.

These breaches expose the consistent failure of the Government and the public sector to safeguard the public’s most sensitive information.

Imagine this risk, but for every single one of us

The kind of digital identity systems the government is considering would force the entire British adult population onto a centralised database. This could be a honeypot for hackers and foreign adversaries, creating huge digital security risks for the public. Cyberattacks and leaks have exposed not just names and emails, but intimate details of our lives. A digital ID system could be misused by the Government for mass surveillance or to track marginalised groups. 

It is no surprise that a majority (63%) of the British public do not trust the Government with keeping their data secure, independent YouGov polling commissioned by Big Brother Watch reveals. Our vital new report ‘Checkpoint Britain: the dangers of digital ID and why privacy must be protected’ further details how a digital ID system could work, how the government could mandate it for a range of public services, and the devastating impact it would have on privacy and civil liberties.

We cannot stand back as our personal data becomes fodder for hackers and a launchpad for an Orwellian surveillance state.

Checkpoint Britain? No thanks

A mandatory digital ID system would make a bonfire of our civil liberties. This system would fundamentally change the nature of our relationship with the state and turn the UK into a “papers, please” society.

The Government must consider these risks and take notice of the public saying no to digital ID loud and clear. Already, over 95,000 people have signed our petition calling on Starmer to reject plans to turn Britain into a database state.

Now, more than ever, we must build the strongest resistance to Orwellian digital ID plans – our rights and freedoms are on the line.

– Abhinaya Murthy, Digital Communications Officer

The post What Britain’s worst data breaches say about Government plans for a digital ID system appeared first on Big Brother Watch.

Source: https://bigbrotherwatch.org.uk/blog/what-britains-worst-data-breaches-say-about-government-plans-for-a-digital-id-system/