Error Investigation 23
Error by:
Communications Service Provider (CSP)
Human or
Technical:
Technical
Cause:
An ‘upgrade’ to a CSP’s business system.
Data Acquired:
Subscriber information relating to telephone number.
Description:
A number of public authorities queried subscriber data
results with a CSP. Returned in their results were two names
and addresses for the same telephone number. The CSP
investigated the incident and identified a technical fault. The
CSP established that during data migration, the code used
when an account was closed was not always carried across. As
a consequence, the details for the current and previous user of
a telephone number were supplied. A script was introduced to
remove duplicate files with only partial success. Until this issue
was resolved, the details for the current as well as previous
subscriber were supplied 260 times.
Consequence:
Excess data was disclosed by the CSP to public authorities that
had not been requested and which had not been authorised.
Error Investigation 24
Error by:
Other Party
Human or
Technical:
Technical
Cause:
Incorrect timezone.
Data Acquired:
Call Data Records relating to 147 CDRs.
Description:
To remove the requirement for public authorities to contact
CSPs personally, which can take time and increase the
likelihood of error, an automatic system was introduced. This
allows properly trained members of public authorities to perform
communications data requests on an automatic system, known
as the Retained Data Handover Interface (RDHI). In setting
this up, one CSP treated date/time stamps differently from the
others, requiring all requests in GMT rather than accepting
British Summer Time where relevant. The issue was rectified
quickly, but not before 147 results had been returned which,
because they were an hour out, could well have been in error.
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