Here is Harriet Harman talking about the importance of absolute data security, which is essential in order to prevent theft of personal data and other people pretending to be you.

Various people have been calling it a “hack”. It is not a proper hack - a hack involves technical ability. It is the IT equivalent of a driver leaving their car in a car park with the doors unlocked, and the ignition key hidden in the glove compartment. Somebody has been around and - so to speak - tried the doorhandles of lots of cars to see if they are unlocked, and guessed where the key is hidden. The fault for the security breach is as much with the idiot who used such an obvious password for a public account.

The conversation:

HH:

“Having just actually having surmounted the technical problems of working out how to do a blog, I’ve really been getting into my blogs, so I’m absolutely gnashing my teeth taht somebody changed my password so that I couldn’t even … but I think that I am going to be back onto it on Monday and blogging away”

Adam Boulton:

“Is it true that your password and your login - one was Harriet and the other was Harman?”

HH:

“I think that you have identified that I am perhaps not as security conscious as I should be, and I’ve got to face the challenge of both remembering my own password and not having one that is so simple that everyone else can zoom in onto it.”

Good Karma for HH on one point

First point: kudos to Ms Harman for not blaming the web developer; it would have been cheap. Blaming the messenger is - in my opinion - a characteristically New Labour approach when they are trying to slope shoulders on something they have done. She has not done that this time, and that is to her credit.

But you just got to grips with your blog? Really?

Quoting literally, we have:

“Having just surmounted the technical problems of working out how to do a blog…”

What? Houston we have a problem…

What is it about politicians and age? Harriet Harman’s blog is older than the impression she is giving; in fact, it is older than the Wardman Wire. It started in January 2007 (here’s a link from Tim Worstall to the twelfth article - published on January 17th 2007).

15 months is not “just” (especially when used as an implied excuse for a stupid password), and it shouldn’t take 15 months to get to grips with Wordpress when:

Jon was extremely helpful as the website designer during my campaign to become Deputy Leader of the Labour Party. He was able to deliver a website that was easy to understand and update and he was a reliable and helpful support throughout the campaign. I would be happy to recommend his website skills to anyone. (Harriet Harman, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party).

And:

I was resident in Harriet Harman’s constituency in 2006/2007 and my contribution to her Deputy Leadership campaign was the design and technical implementation of a website and blog for the campaign. The website strategy was praised and Harriet was victorious in the election - by just 0.43% - so I hope that the website contributed a small amount to that success. The website is powered by Typo3 and all updates during the campaign were carried out by Harriet’s campaign staff. Harriet’s blog was written by Harriet herself after training I had provided, and was powered by Wordpress.

while Ellee Seymour commented:

At the end of the day, HH was the best communicator, she regularly updated her blog and responded to comments.

That doesn’t sound like “just” getting to grips with Wordpress in April 2008 to me. A little bit of a smokescreen being created, possibly.

I am left speculating “just” how long Harriet Harman’s account and password have been harriet / harman.

But what’s the point?

The point is that Harriet Harman has been in the cabinet since before 9/11, and has therefore been a woman who has had a key role in taking our society into the La-La-Land of security obsession and curtailment of Civil Liberties in which we now live - Our Kingdom have a little list that goes back to 1997.

Name them: SOCPA, obsessive use of CCTV, the largest DNA database in the world - now with senior police officers proposing DNA profiling of primary school children, detention without trial (now to 42 days), harassing photographers, intercepting people making films or taking photographs of places that are widely documented on the Internet, and any number of activities which do nothing to contribute to security but button down free expression. They’ll lock up planespotters next, and rename it “Greece Britain”.

Ms Harman was also responsible for the Postal Voting Security Provisions, including defending at length in Parliament a lower level of data security than the existing system in use in the North of Ireland. The Hansard debate is here.

Meanwhile, she has her own name as security details on a public website for an indeterminate period.

See a common thread here, anywhere? May I - politely - suggest that a total lack of judgement is involved.

Wrapping Up

I suggest that this password security technique be known in future as “the Harman Hash“.

I’d also suggest an audit of all passwords on MP public websites.

And just in case (deep breath at this point) a phalanx of policemen with Heckler and Koch submachine gun descend by parachute to DNA test me for inciting terrorism by writing an article about silly politicians while being in possession of an age of more than 6 months, let me make clear that I mean a real audit - not a private one by activists.

Incidentally, Austin Mitchell MP has an Early Day Motion to halt the harrassment of people taking photographs in public. Please consider encouraging your MP to sign it.