Security experts, join me now and say: “Jeremy Clarkson, you’re an idiot”. The TV presenter ridiculed the outcry in the UK over the loss of two discs containing 25 million personal data records. As a show of his disdain, he published his bank account information in The Sun paper only to wake up the next day to find he’d lost money.

The BBC crowed “Clarkson stung after bank prank” and with good reason. You’d think that anyone would know better than to give online hackers carte blanche to raid your bank account. Clarkson was lucky enough to escape with just GBP500 direct-debited to a kidney charity. Imagine if the hacker had been less kind and cleaned out his bank account instead.

But at least Clarkson was suitably chastened by his mistake, saying “I was wrong and I have been punished for my mistake.”

Clarkson, like too many of us, didn’t realise how important keeping personal data safe was until he got burned. It was too easy for him to rubbish the furore over a UK HM Revenue and Customs losing two discs worth of child benefit claimant data. Prime Minister Gordon Brown fully realised the situation’s temerity and made a public apology.

Still, Clarkson’s case has proven a valuable means of educating the public and helping ensure cases like the customs debacle don’t happen again.

“Contrary to what I said at the time, we must go after the idiots who lost the discs and stick cocktail sticks in their eyes until they beg for mercy.” Yes, Jeremy Clarkson. I think you’ve got it now.

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Entry was posted on Monday, January 7th, 2008 at 1:29 pm under Security.

Read more entries by Erna Mahyuni.
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