Patricia Hewitt apologized in parliament today for the security lapses in the online job application scheme for junior hospital doctors (MTAS). This flaw allowed open access to data such as names and addresses, religion and sexual preferences (although goodness only knows why applicants had to fill those in). The story was featured on Channel 4 news tonight and on the BBC news website.
But there is an even more worrying aspect to the whole sorry saga.
The MTAS system was apparently set up for the DoH (no doubt at enormous public expense) by a company called Methods Consulting Ltd. It was, we are told, the fault of this company that basic security flaws arose. The web site of Methods Consulting Ltd proudly lists their other important public sector clients, including, would you believe, the Metropolitan Police; it hardly bears thinking about.
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