Woman blitzed by text messages after data breach

A WOMAN was subjected to a large number of text messages after a civil servant in Revenue improperly accessed her file and passed it on to a third party.

This was one of the cases highlighted by Data Protection Commissioner Billy Hawkes yesterday as he identified this practice of improper access by civil servants to information on members of the public was one of the main threats to the privacy of Irish citizens.

Mr Hawkes said one of his priorities during 2008 would be to highlight the responsibility of government to safeguard personal information entrusted to it by members of the public.

Mr Hawkes expressed regret that his office had received a number of reports last year of improper access by civil servants to personal records kept in government departments. There were also reports of deliberate improper release of personal information to third parties.

One case related to an employee of the Revenue Commissioners who had improperly accessed data on a woman and members of her family and passed the information to a third party, who subjected the woman to a large number of anonymous text messages. It is understood the tax official is facing disciplinary measures.

In 2005, 72 civil servants accessed the records of the Department of Social and Family Affairs on the winner of a €115m Euromillions jackpot, Dolores McNamara.

“While those who betray the public trust in this way must be punished appropriately, the best protection for the public is to limit access to information in the first place and to audit that access subsequently,” said the commissioner.

Speaking at the launch of his annual report, Mr Hawkes said there was also abundant evidence of poor standards of protection in the private sector.

A total of 1,037 complaints were received by the commissioner in 2007, up from 658 in the previous year, representing a 57.6% increase. More than half of all complaints related to the use of unsolicited text messages, phone calls and emails, while 18% related to complaints about access to personal information. Among the companies investigated were Eircom, Sky Ireland, Aer Lingus, Ryanair and Tesco.

Mr Hawkes also said his office recently secured a successful prosecution against a semi-state company over its failure to comply with a commissioner notice.

The Irish Examiner has established that Iarnród Éireann was convicted of a breach of data protection legislation in Dublin District Court earlier this week in a case relating to the company’s use of a CCTV camera.

Mr Hawkes confirmed that around 350 prosecutions initiated by his office are pending before the courts. He expressed concern that security issues were still largely setting the public agenda in relation to data protection issues.

He also provided his first list of the top 10 threats to privacy. They include the extended use of Personal Public Service Numbers, publication of personal data on the internet and data sought from international travellers.