Government Gateway hit by new security lapse

A new data breach has been admitted to by the government.

The latest incident occurred when a USB stick containing pass codes to the Government Gateway system was misplaced by a staff member at operators Atos Origin – and found again in a pub car park.
Sites run by the Gateway system include sensitive information, such as VAT returns and driving licence applications.

However, the Department for Work and Pensions said that none of this data has been lost as a result of the incident.

"We have moved immediately to make sure there is no conceivable risk to users of the Government Gateway and we are convinced the integrity of the Government Gateway has not been compromised," a spokesman said.

The USB stick loss is the latest in a series of high-profile data breaches.

Most memorably, HM Revenue & Customs lost child benefit records of 25 million UK families, when discs went missing in the tax body''s internal courier system.