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McAfee defends government over child database
It will be fine, honest

By Nick Farrell: Friday, 22 February 2008, 11:50 AM

http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/02/22/mcafee-defends-government-child

NAY-SAYERS against the government's central database plans have been slammed by insecurity experts McAfee for claiming that the operation will be less secure.

For those who came in late, Scottish Prime Minister Gordon Brown has been getting a bit of stick over a cunning plan to put every child's details onto a single database.

Instead of kiddies' details being held on a health, education or social services computer, they will be in one big one which can be linked to by the separate organisations.

Brown's thinking is that if it all in one place, no one can lose it and it can be much more secure.

However there has been much outcry in some circles that this database will be a damn fine target for hackers and we could be letting our kid's data fall into the hands of terrorists, paedophiles and other sorts of people that we used to be able to lynch.

However Kim Camman, marketing manager at mobile device encryption specialist SafeBoot, a McAfee company, told the INQ that it was a silly idea to assume that data stored on one central database will present a bigger threat than data held on lots of little ones.

He said that the problem with the system is not the single database idea but the fact that the data might be unencrypted in transit.

One central database is likely to be far more secure, as it will allow all parties to access it in a more secure way, he said.

It will also reduce the need for sensitive information to be stored on multiple mobile devices and transported between departments.

He said that if the database is managed and protected properly with strict security protocols and policies, and all employees are educated in these procedures, it should make a significant difference to improving child protection.

Unfortunately we are talking about the government here and it does not have what even the most trusting, gullible, rose-tinted spectacle wearer could call a good track record on data security.