The ICO Gets Some Teeth?

Up until now, the ICO has only really been able to levy a slap on the wrist and a “must do better” to those who lose people’s data. This looks to change next year, with the ability to fine the company £500,000 – which is no small chunk of change. However… is this really enough? The maximum was set to be less than 10% of a small company’s turnover – but if this is the maximum, then surely the value set for a breach can be less? So, why not set it either a lot higher, or as a percentage of revenue?

If we really want to stop data breaches, then the fines need to be such that attitudes towards data security actually change – before the breach occurs, not afterwards. Without this, the ICO’s teeth are not that scary.

The other interesting point here is that the fine can also be levied on those companies who keep the information longer than they should, accidently delete it and store it outside the EU (where the data protection legislation is not suitably strong).

So… time to revisit that data protection policy, especially if you are looking towards cloud services to deliver your next level of IT.

Guy Bunker

November 13, 2009 | Filed Under Regulation, data-loss, security 

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One Response to “The ICO Gets Some Teeth?”

  1. Have Your Employees Sold Your Data? : View From The Bunker on November 23rd, 2009

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