After a string of high level data loss incidents, Opposition MPs in the UK have condemned the government for failing to protect the personal information of tens of millions of Britons stored across numerous public services.
UK Transport secretary Ruth Kelly admitted to Parliament this week that a hard disk went missing from a secure facility of the Driving Standards Agency's (DSA) third-party contractor, Pearson Driving Assessments in the US, in May.
It is estimated that up to three million learner drivers details were lost in the incident, which is alleged to have occurred last May.
Susan Kramer, the Liberal Democrat shadow for the Department for Transport (DfT), described the news of the latest breach as "mind bending", saying: "If that happened last May, why was the Secretary of State -- never mind this House -- not informed? The message is clear: the culture must change."
Revelations of the breach comes in light of enduring speculation in Australia that new amendments to the Privacy Act will require organisations that expose the personal details of customers or clients to disclose any indiscretions; at present there are no laws obligating an organisation to do so.
An Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) report into data disclosure is expected to be delivered to the Federal Attorney General early next year, after the Office of the The Privacy Commissioner made its intentions on data disclosure clear in a submission to the ALRC in March.
"The Office suggests that the Privacy Act be amended to add provisions requiring agencies and organisations to advise affected individuals of a breach to their personal information," said the submission.
Andrew Walls, security analyst at research firm Gartner believes the amendments are a "99.99 percent chance" of being enacted.
He told ZDNet Australia in August: "I think it's inevitable...it's a logical next step from the Privacy Act of 1988 and I see it as a very positive move."
The UK data loss follows from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) -- the government department responsible for collecting taxes and various other services -- admitting the loss of two CDs containing details of more than 25 million people claiming and receiving child benefits as well as the Northern Ireland Driver and Vehicle Agency losing the details of around 7,600 people earlier this month, it was also revealed yesterday that HMRC had lost the details of 6,500 pensioners.
The details lost between the three major incidents include names, addresses, and national insurance numbers as well as pension and welfare contribution information.
"Quite simply, the government are failing in their duty to obey their own laws on data protection, and failing in their primary and fundamental duty to protect the interests of the people whom they were elected to serve," said Conservative Shadow Transport Secretary, Theresa Villiers.
ZDNet Australia's Marcus Browne contributed to this article
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