ISC sends response to Daily Telegraph

22 February 2008

The Independent Schools Council's General Counsel Matthew Burgess has sent a letter to the Daily Telegraph in response to their 'Child database - will never be fully secure' story.

Letter to Daily Telegragh

Sir,

Deloitte's security review of the children's database system, ContactPoint (report, 22 February) makes worrying reading for parents. They identify a number of security failings; point to significant risks to the database caused by lack of expertise and resource; note the limits on the ContactPoint team's ability to monitor breaches or control breakdowns; and hint that the true cost of fixing these bugs could be excessive. Their conclusion? "Government-wide security initiatives to maintain and enhance roles, responsibilities and accountability for the security of systems such as ContactPoint that extend across multiple Departments and other organizations." Parents should be very wary of consultant doublespeak.  All databases are liable to security lapses. The question for the Government is whether a "cost-benefit" analysis of the security of information about every child in England is the right approach. The security of our children's data is priceless. The only safe, secure way to safeguard our children's data is to scrap the whole ContactPoint system.

Yours

Matthew Burgess, General Counsel, Independent Schools Council