Search results for Data Protection Act
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510 results found showing 1 - 20
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Company in breach of Data Protection Act for lost laptop
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has found Amicus Legal Ltd in breach of the Data Protection Act after a laptop computer, containing personal information relating to 100,000 customers, was stolen. The laptop, privately owned by a contracted consultant, was not encrypted. Amicus Legal has signed a formal Undertaking outlining that it will take reasonable measures to keep personal informat...
News | 10 Jun 2009
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One in five businesses breaching the Data Protection Act
Almost one in five businesses has unwittingly breached the Data Protection Act (DPA) at least once, according to a survey of over 500 small and medium businesses conducted by BSI. Of these, nearly half said they had breached the Act on several occasions and an additional 18% said they were not sure whether they had or not. A ‘breach’ could refer to the illegal transfer of...
News | 2 Jun 2009
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Businesses should not ‘hide behind’ Data Protection Act
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has this week urged organisations not to hide behind the Data Protection Act unnecessarily when dealing with individuals. The ICO’s call comes as it continues to encounter incidents where data protection is wrongly used by organisations as a reason for refusing to give out any personal information or for preventing them from dealing with certain types of enquiries. Th...
News | 3 Apr 2009
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More solicitors charged for breaching Data Protection Act
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has successfully prosecuted two London solicitors for offences under the Data Protection Act. Olubi Adejobi of Grier Olubi Solicitors and Robert Bentley of Bentley’s Solicitors, both based in London, were each fined £300 and ordered to pay costs of £500 plus a victims’ surcharge of £15 at Stratford Magistrates’ Court. Each solicitor must therefore pay a total of £815 in fines and...
Case | 21 Feb 2008
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HMRC: changes to Data Protection Act sanctions planned
The Government has announced that, in light of the HMRC data loss, there will be new tougher sanctions under the Data Protection Act 1998 for the most serious breaches of its principles.Making a statement on the progress of the Poynter Review, which is investigating security processes and procedures for data handling, Chancellor Alistair Darling said that priority has been given to the immediate steps that HMRC must take to prot...
News | 19 Dec 2007
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Employers risk breaching Data Protection Act
Nearly half of IT directors are in breach of the 1998 Data Protection Act (DPA) because they are using live customer data to test their company’s IT systems, according to a report by IT services firm Compuware. In the survey of over 100 senior IT professionals, 44% said they use actual customer data to test applications. There was even more concern that 48% of the ...
News | 5 Jul 2006
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UK’s Data Protection Act Might Not Meet European Union Standards
Last December, a ruling by the Court of Appeal – known as the Durant decision – narrowed the scope of the UK's Data Protection Act. Today, privacy experts at Masons warn that it is based on "faulty reasoning" and calls into question the UK's implementation of the EU's Data Protection Directive. The case, a dispute between the Financial Services Authority and Michael John Durant, narrowed the scope of data protection to such...
News | 20 May 2004
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Tightening of Data Protection Act will Force Employers to Readdress ‘Personal Data’
A proposed tightening of the Data Protection Act could impose greater burdens on employers by widening the definition of what counts as personal data, the Financial Times reports. The move could lead to higher fines for mishandling data held on staff or clients. The newspaper reports that following concerns issued by the European Commission t...
News | 22 Jul 2004
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Does Your Accident Book Conform to the Data Protection Act?
...roved by the Information Commissioner... Currently, when you make an entry into most existing accident books, you are able to view previous entries made in the book - allowing access to personal details and information. The Information Commissioner has ruled that this is an infringement of the Data Protection Act. The new design, produced by the HSE, allows for accidents to be recorded, with personal details stored separately in a secure location. The Information Commissioner has allowed a seven-month lead-in time for businesses to change their accident book to comply. This means that the new book, or...
News | 21 May 2003
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Businesses should not ‘hide behind’ Data Protection Act
Not ideal and would breach data protection without consent of applicant who may be happy to release phone contact but, address completely unecessary and risky inviting unsolicited visitation or burglary if known to be on holiday etc. No shouldn't done.
Comment | 9 Apr 2009
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Businesses should not ‘hide behind’ Data Protection Act
A club I am a member of displays personal details of prospective members on the club notice board i.e. name, address and phone number. I raised this matter with the club secretary regarding this as it may breach data protection or lead to identity theft. His view is that he isnt aware of anyones identity being stolen also when a memeber is accepted their details arte secured on a database. Is this a breach of data protection?
Comment | 8 Apr 2009
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Trash and the Data Protection Act
...irement for all data processing carried out by third parties to be subject to a written contract, requiring the processor to take appropriate security measures against unauthorised or unlawful processing of the data.Security is particularly important in the context of the destruction of data. The Data Protection Act adopts a "cradle to grave" approach, and makes it clear that destruction falls within the definition of "processing". There have been a number of well publicised horror stories of customers' records being found in rubbish bags outside banks - it would be difficult now to argue that this method of...
News | 9 Oct 2001
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Destruction of Confidential Information: Are You Complying with the Data Protection Act?
Many businesses still fail to comply with the Data Protection Act for the secure destruction of confidential information. The British Security Industry Association (BSIA) has now published new guidance to help employers manage this problem. Amongst advice included in the guide is the need to have a formal written contract with your information destruction comp...
News | 18 Nov 2002
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DATA PROTECTION ACT
Will I be breaking the Data Protection Act by allowing another department to have address labels which contain employees' home addresses, or is this information suppose to remain with H/R only?
Comment | 13 Aug 2004
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Data Protection Act
Our parent company has asked for information regarding holiday entitlement for employees. They would like this information sent electronically. Will we be breaking the Data Protection Act by sending the information in this way? Please advise.
Comment | 25 Jun 2004
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Call for custodial sentences for data protection breaches
MPs on the Justice Committee have urged the Government to introduce custodial sentences for serious breaches of the Data Protection Act. The Justice Committee report, out today, raises concerns that breaking data protection laws can be extremely profitable and the impact of the crime can be severe and that fines provide an inadequate deterrent when the financial rewards for illegal behaviour are so great. Sir Alan Beith, the Chai...
News | 27 Oct 2011
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Businesses more aware of data protection responsibilities
Businesses are ‘waking up’ to their obligations under the Data Protection Act (DPA) but public confidence in how personal information is being handled continues to decline, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) said today. New figures published today show that nearly three-quarters of businesses surveyed now know that the DPA requires them to keep personal informat...
News | 21 Oct 2011
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ICO pushes for compulsory data protection audits
... powers the ICO currently has are for central government departments. For all other organisations the ICO has to get consent before an audit can take place.Data breaches in the NHS continue to be a major problem. Of the 47 undertakings the ICO has agreed with organisations that have breached the Data Protection Act since April, over 40% (19) were in the healthcare sector. In addition, the most serious personal data breaches that have resulted in a civil monetary penalty occurred in the local government sector. Four of the six penalties served so far involved local authorities.Businesses remain the sector ge...
News | 17 Oct 2011
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Warning to retailers following Lush data protection breach
Cosmetics retailer Lush breached the Data Protection Act after the security of its website was compromised for a four month period, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) said today. The breach, which occurred between October 2010 and January 2011, meant that hackers were able to access the payment details of 5,000 customers who had previously sho...
News | 12 Aug 2011
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Data Protection Act - Retention of Records - Ex-Staff
...iods. The Information Commissioner's recommendations for how to assess employee data retention periods are set out in Part 2 of the Employment Practices Data Protection Code. You can find this at www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk All computer files containing personal data will be covered by the data protection act, some paper files may not be covered. It all depends on how structured your file sets are. Again you can find guidance on this at the OIC site or contact me at john.salmon@masons.com. Regards, John Salmon Partner, Masons
Comment | 20 Jan 2004
