Government experienced 11 database breaches last year

Staff from two public sector departments have been fired or reprimanded for abusing their access to confidential databases, it was revealed today.

Home Secretary Alan Johnson confirmed the 11 security breaches at the UK Border Agency (UKBA) and the Identity and Passport Service (IPS) during questions at the House of Commons in a response to a question from Shadow Home Secretary Chris Grayling.

Five of the cases involved falsifying records and manipulating Home Office Systems whilst the other six concerned unauthorised access to a database or letting somebody else use their login details.

However, Johnson would not give more details on those who perpetrated the breaches or who they affected.

"It is UKBA policy not to disclose any personal information or to provide a further breakdown of the numbers of staff below five where this may potentially reveal to a third party the identity of the individuals involved," he said.

"IPS records do not specify the activities involved in each particular case."

The breaches were all said to have happened in 2009.

Jennifer Scott is a former freelance journalist and currently political reporter for Sky News. She has a varied writing history, having started her career at Dennis Publishing, working in various roles across its business technology titles, including ITPro. Jennifer has specialised in a number of areas over the years and has produced a wealth of content for ITPro, focusing largely on data storage, networking, cloud computing, and telecommunications.

Most recently Jennifer has turned her skills to the political sphere and broadcast journalism, where she has worked for the BBC as a political reporter, before moving to Sky News.