QUOTE
Stolen RAF vice files spark blackmail fear
Vetting data included drug abuse and use of prostitutes by senior officers
David Hencke, Westminster correspondent
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 24 May 2009 22.30 BST
Article history
Sensitive files detailing the extra marital affairs, drug taking and use of prostitutes by very senior officers in the RAF have been stolen, raising fears within the Ministry of Defence that personnel could be vulnerable to blackmail.
Up to 500 people in the service could be affected by the theft. They have been interviewed individually about the possible consequences to them and to their families.
Westminster correspondent David Henke talks about stolen hard disks which detail drug taking and the use of prostitutes by senior staff in the RAF Link to this audio
The potentially damaging information was stored on three computer hard drives that went missing from RAF Innsworth, Gloucestershire, last September. The files were not encrypted, so could be opened easily. The RAF disclosed the loss of the hard drives two weeks after they went missing, revealing only that the bank details and home addresses of 50,000 servicemen and women were on the computers.
It kept secret the fact that the "vetting" information about 500 staff had also disappeared. The defence secretary at the time, Des Browne, was not told, nor was Sir Richard Thomas, the then information commissioner. The details were also withheld from parliament.
More about:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/may/24/r...tolen-blackmail
Vetting data included drug abuse and use of prostitutes by senior officers
David Hencke, Westminster correspondent
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 24 May 2009 22.30 BST
Article history
Sensitive files detailing the extra marital affairs, drug taking and use of prostitutes by very senior officers in the RAF have been stolen, raising fears within the Ministry of Defence that personnel could be vulnerable to blackmail.
Up to 500 people in the service could be affected by the theft. They have been interviewed individually about the possible consequences to them and to their families.
Westminster correspondent David Henke talks about stolen hard disks which detail drug taking and the use of prostitutes by senior staff in the RAF Link to this audio
The potentially damaging information was stored on three computer hard drives that went missing from RAF Innsworth, Gloucestershire, last September. The files were not encrypted, so could be opened easily. The RAF disclosed the loss of the hard drives two weeks after they went missing, revealing only that the bank details and home addresses of 50,000 servicemen and women were on the computers.
It kept secret the fact that the "vetting" information about 500 staff had also disappeared. The defence secretary at the time, Des Browne, was not told, nor was Sir Richard Thomas, the then information commissioner. The details were also withheld from parliament.
More about:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/may/24/r...tolen-blackmail