How the theft of 40M UK voter register records was entirely preventable

Quick Summary:

Those registers store information on voters who registered between 2014 and 2022, and include names, postal addresses, phone numbers and nonpublic voter information.The U.K.government later attributed the intrusion to China, with senior officials warning that the stolen data could be used for “large-scale espionage and transnational repression of perceived dissidents and critics in the U.K.” China denied involvement in the breach.

The report published by the U.K.’s Information Commissioner’s Office on Monday blamed the Electoral Commission, which maintains copies of the U.K.register of citizens eligible to vote in elections, for a series of security failings that led to the mass theft of voter information beginning August 2021.

In concert with the ICO saying it would test fewer sanctions for public sector data breaches, Edwards said the regulator would adopt a more proactive workflow of outreach to senior leaders at public authorities to try to raise standards and drive data protection compliance across government bodies through a harm-prevention approach.

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Article Details

Author / Journalist: Zack Whittaker, Natasha Lomas

Category: Technology

Markets: United StatesChinaMaliOman

Topics: Electoral Commission Microsoft exchange Security Cyberattack Cybersecurity

Source Website Secure: Yes (HTTPS)

News Sentiment: Negative

Fact Checked: Legitimate

Article Type: News Report

Published On: 2024-08-03 @ 05:00:00 (11 hours ago)

News Timezone: GMT -5:00

News Source URL: techcrunch.com

Language: English

Article Length: 2145 words

Reading Time: 12 minutes read

Sentences: 80 lines

Sentence Length: 27 words per sentence (average)

Platforms: Desktop Web, Mobile Web, iOS App, Android App

Copyright Owner: © TechCrunch

News ID: 21903267

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