It has been reported T-Mobile has called in the Information Commissioner over customer personal details being sold on the black market. It is not yet known if the data was ‘simply’ customer contact details, or whether it included the ridiculous level of personal data mobile phone operators have to retain to comply with TERROR legislation and Home Office edict.
By law or through the ‘voluntary’ agreement as Part 11 of the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001, mobile phone operators record much data. This includes:
- A log of where the phone has been used (usually the postcode of the transmitter) for the past year,
- A log of each call made and text sent in the past year
- A log of each call and text received in the past year
- A list of websites visited in the past year
- Email address of recipients of emails sent on the phone for the past year
- It goes on….
Some of this information, incidentally, can be disclosed to councils, the NHS, fire services etc, as part of RIPA… and hopefully not the French Government (majority owner of Orange).
But fear not! The ICO is on the case. The perpetrators of this crime are doubtlessly shitting bricks over the powers at the disposable of the ICO. Under Section 55 of the Data Protection Act, a court can levy a £5,000 fine for a breach of the DPA and… that’s it.
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