Who can you trust with your data.

[Spectric]

Hi all

You must all have seen the fiasco about the police losing loads of data from their computer system, it makes you realise that incompetance seems to be rife in all departments and sections of our society with a lot of people in jobs well beyond their ability but they probably have a degree in something so thats ok. Having worked in Metrology and software this is actually far greater than just incompetance, it is almost like sabotage because for me it really is unbelievable, some of the most basic and fundamental principles have been totally ignored. Go back before computers, before IC's, before transisters and even before the thermionic valve there was a saying about not putting all your eggs in one basket so why have these iidiots done just that. When you look at digital asset management the two key fundamental objectives are 1) Ensure a robust backup system with multiple copies of data in multiple locations, and 2) Ensure data is future proof, it will be of no use when the storage media becomes obsolete and you cannot access it!

This really demonstrates that all our digital data is vunerable if it is in the hands of incompetant muppets, you can see why scams and fraud cannot be controlled and trust in what used to be core establishments is no longer.

 

[Billy_wizz]

Hi all

You must all have seen the fiasco about the police losing loads of data from their computer system, it makes you realise that incompetance seems to be rife in all departments and sections of our society with a lot of people in jobs well beyond their ability but they probably have a degree in something so thats ok. Having worked in Metrology and software this is actually far greater than just incompetance, it is almost like sabotage because for me it really is unbelievable, some of the most basic and fundamental principles have been totally ignored. Go back before computers, before IC's, before transisters and even before the thermionic valve there was a saying about not putting all your eggs in one basket so why have these iidiots done just that. When you look at digital asset management the two key fundamental objectives are 1) Ensure a robust backup system with multiple copies of data in multiple locations, and 2) Ensure data is future proof, it will be of no use when the storage media becomes obsolete and you cannot access it!

This really demonstrates that all our digital data is vunerable if it is in the hands of incompetant muppets, you can see why scams and fraud cannot be controlled and trust in what used to be core establishments is no longer.

Lol our data is at risk full stop people need to stop thinking that any data kept on a computer connected to the internet is in any way safe!

 

[MickCheese]

I think you will find the deletion was intentional and for that reason, there was no backup as that would need deleting too. All part of GDPR and data management I suspect, but someone made a big mistake.

 

[stuckinthemud]

If it is networked it is vulnerable to determined attack. End of.

 

[Ollie78]

Trust no one. Assume privacy is a thing of the past.

 

[Doug B]

We don’t use our landline & its ex-directory the only time it’s used is when our house alarm goes off, no one rings us on it.
A few months back when I was very ill with COVID my wife gave the land line number to the NHS council run track & trace, we received a call from them & with 2 hours of that call we received 3 suspicious/malicious calls.
Clearly their system had be hacked almost immediately, sadly in this day & age you have to give certain data to organisations but as to trusting them to keep it secure I definitely don’t.

 

[billw]

We don’t use our landline & its ex-directory the only time it’s used is when our house alarm goes off, no one rings us on it.
A few months back when I was very ill with COVID my wife gave the land line number to the NHS council run track & trace, we received a call from them & with 2 hours of that call we received 3 suspicious/malicious calls.
Clearly their system had be hacked almost immediately, sadly in this day & age you have to give certain data to organisations but as to trusting them to keep it secure I definitely don’t.

Might just be chance, scammers just ring numbers at random so if there was a spate of them that day it just happens.

 

[Doug B]

Might just be chance, scammers just ring numbers at random so if there was a spate of them that day it just happens.

But the calls were relating to covid pretending to be from track & trace I can’t believe it was a coincidence

 

[Billy_wizz]

The one that gets me is the DVLA you have no choice but to give them your details so they should not be able to share/sell them

 

[Sandyn]

I don't trust anyone with my data. not even myself.

I don't know, but is there a possibility that the Police are legally obliged to have a method of completely deleting data that they hold for people. Perhaps if you were convicted of a crime, then proven innocent, you might be able to demand they delete everything they have on you?? so a mechanism exists for deleting data completely, including all backups?

Some user might have found a bug in the system which allowed deletion of a complete database? who knows.
You would think there would be multiple warnings:- 'Are you sure you want to delete this data' all the way to 'Are you really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really sure you want to delete this data.

Data is never really deleted, unless completely overwritten to some standard, so if it was just kept in one place and it was an accidental, you would think they could have retrieved the data. Something doesn't add up?
I'm sure if they go on to the dark web, they will be able to purchase a backup copy from some nice helpful hacker.

 

[Ollie78]

Might just be chance, scammers just ring numbers at random so if there was a spate of them that day it just happens.

Years ago I worked for a telesales company they generated every possible number, removed the ones in the directory and thus were left with all the ex directory numbers.
We called them all, it was quite sketchy when you ring military installations and secret government stuff to see if they need new windows!! There was some explaining to do.
In the end they shut it down as it was deemed not quite legal.
Ollie

 

[bourbon]

And banks are trying to get me to bank on-line?? I really don't think that's gonna happen If I can help it.

 

[AJB Temple]

Why do you think banking on-line is less safe?

 

[Sandyn]

I went into my Amazon account and was listening to and deleting all my Alexa recordings. It also shows all the "Audio was not intended for this device" recordings. It's a bit reassuring that the quality of the recording is crap, so anyone listening in would have difficulty hearing what was being said if not directed at Alexa. I often talk about passwords, and other confidential stuff, then have to tell Alexa to delete all recordings for today. Every so often I go into my account and delete all recording. Interestingly, it didn't seem to record the times when I tell Alexa it's effing useless.
Twenty years ago, if someone told me that one day I would pay for a device/s to put in my home which would allow some huge Corporation to listen to everything I say...........In your dreams!!!!!

Now Google has all my Fitbit Data. It knows what I do every day, when I sleep, wake, active, cycle, run, my oxygen level, my heart rate. It's getting scary, especially since Google have a quantum computer. Imagine the analysis they could do with that!!

 

[thetyreman]

it's facebook that worries me more than any other company, they can't be trusted with data, same thing with insta and whatsapp, I do use instagram though so am not completely immune, it's just how hard it is to get away from it all, lets not forget only 20 years ago most of us wasn't doing any of this crap, it's a weird time we live in.

 

[TRITON]

Worst aspect of it all is the 'Cloud'
A depository where all your data is stored aand easy for dodgy elements to easily get into. Ignore any company that says its data bases are ultra safe, as more often than not its a rogue employee working in tandem with the crooks.

This might sound strange, but over the last 12 or so years I've no anti hack or anything such like Norton, or whatever running on my system. You'd say im open to attack, but am i really given theres never been any sort of a problem. In fact I suspect these paid software products cause the problems themselves.
I occasionally run malwarebytes whenever i feel paranoid about it all, but lo and behold nothing is ever found. I've windows defender running but thats an integral part of windows and I dont think I can really shut it off, but either way it appears to be all thats needed and you dont need to pay some other company an annual subscription.
Certainly when you look into companies like Norton, or McAfee they themselves have more skeletons than a graveyard. Especially McAfee, whom I believe is classed at one point as a fugitive from justice(

Take one of the industrial anti hack programs used in the nuclear industry, and used by Iran in particular. Norton I think that was.
Inside that program were elements that assembled a hack program, that then went on to attack the centrifuges, but manipulating the motors, causing them to speed up or slow down ruining the process and causing damage to that system. The program, then disassembled itself and hid inside the code.
Thats scary stuff.
So makes you think that when you install these programs to seemingly keep check of your system, what it is doing in there youve not a clue and might in fact be causing the problems in the first place by scanning or reading it all and sending reports back to HQ.
We can all use a computer, but I reckon 90% of those users havent a clue about how it all works.

 

[beech1948]

Absolutely no one....no one at all. Treat every interaction as a dubious one.

I have had 5 recent attempts to take money via false Barclays bank emails. Having worked it out on the first one I got very angry at the persistence. Barclays was just shrugging their shoulders and saying sorry but...!!!??

I found some dark web programs, inserted a malicious worm and have not heard from them for 5 weeks..if they can find me. Sod them all.

 

[AJB Temple]

Decided against posting

 

[billw]

Internet banking isn't safe. Well neither was going into a bank when they had loads of cash and they got held up.

I know there's some people who will just steadfastly refuse to move with the times, it is what it is, but they should be honest that it's 99.999999999999% their own feelings about fraud, not the reality of internet finances. "Oh but there was this bit in the Daily Mail about..." OK STOP THERE. That was 89 year old Ermintrude who's half deaf and wonders why the milkman hasn't left a pint in 25 years. She got caught out by that nice young man from British Telecom who wanted to confirm that it was really her he was talking to by asking for her date of birth, mother's maiden name, place of birth, credit card number, expiry date, CVV, full address with postcode, bank account number, sort code.... and she really thought that was genuine. Does that mean everyone's being conned? No. Are you Ermintrude? No. Well, probably not.

 

[Sandyn]

Internet banking?
I would prefer if Banks still employed people. I think it's sad when I go into a bank and there is a very helpful person there to help pay in cheques or whatever at the auto teller. Basically, they are helping me to do something which will put them out of a job.
That is the way of the world unfortunately and it will get worse and worse.