The NAO presumably wanted the records as part of their audit testing. I'm not sure why they wouldn't do their testing and sample selection on site though, which would remove the need to send this kind of data through internal mail.
A question I keep wondering about is why this supposed 23 year old assistant-type person has access to just dump 25 million records onto a CDROM and pop it in an envelope.
I hadn't heard that was had happened, but then I've not listened to the news this evening. My guess would be that the person who had the access just pulled the data and said the the assistant "get that over to NAO" and didn't bother to check exactly was how it to be done. A failure in instructions, as well as a failure in quality control.
I wonder if the assistant even knew what data they were dealing with.
That's just as bad, surely. Equivalent to giving the assistant the password. Worse, really, because so easy to copy a CD and all the records already neatly packaged for transport.
I'm not saying that it is better, indeed I would agree that it is worse.
The point I'm making is that it is the assistant's manager who is at fault, not the assistant themselves; other than perhaps questioning whether they should do it or asking for more details about what should be done. But the level of assistant (which I don't know) would determine whether they had enough knowledge to know to ask.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2007-11-21 10:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-11-21 10:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-11-21 11:07 pm (UTC)I wonder if the assistant even knew what data they were dealing with.
no subject
Date: 2007-11-21 11:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-11-22 10:47 am (UTC)The point I'm making is that it is the assistant's manager who is at fault, not the assistant themselves; other than perhaps questioning whether they should do it or asking for more details about what should be done. But the level of assistant (which I don't know) would determine whether they had enough knowledge to know to ask.
no subject
Date: 2007-11-22 12:25 am (UTC)Possibly that was what the NAO was testing for!