ANALYSIS Last week was a big one for data breaches in the UK, as Zurich was hit with a 2.27 million fine for losing customer information.
It was the biggest fine ever handed out by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) for a data security failing.
Later in the week, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) found both Yorkshire Building Society and DSG Retail, the owner of PC World, in breach of the Data Protection Act.
In the case of DSG Retail, eight customer credit agreements containing personal and financial data were found in a skip outside a PC World store. Yorkshire Building Society had an unencrypted laptop containing customer information stolen.
In both cases no fine was handed out, even though the ICO now has the ability to hand out a 500,000 penalty for "serious" breaches of the Act.
When the new powers were announced, the ICO said the information Commissioner will adopt "a pragmatic and proportionate approach to issuing an organisation with a monetary penalty."
It added: "Factors will be taken into account including an organisation's financial resources, sector, size and the severity of the data breach, to ensure that undue financial hardship is not imposed on an organisation."
We asked a range of experts working in the data protection sphere whether they believe the ICO is right in its proportionate strategy or if it is time the regulatory body started wielding its stick some more.
-
What does modern security success look like for financial services?Sponsored As financial institutions grapple with evolving cyber threats, intensifying regulations, and the limitations of ageing IT infrastructure, the need for a resilient and forward-thinking security strategy has never been greater
-
Yes, legal AI. But what can you actually do with it? Let’s take a look…Sponsored Legal AI is a knowledge multiplier that can accelerate research, sharpen insights, and organize information, provided legal teams have confidence in its transparent and auditable application
-
Ransomware victims are getting better at haggling with hackersNews While nearly half of companies paid a ransom to get their data back last year, victims are taking an increasingly hard line with hackers to strike fair deals.
-
23andMe 'failed to take basic steps' to safeguard customer dataNews The ICO has strong criticism for the way the genetic testing company responded to a 2023 breach.
-
AI recruitment tools are still a privacy nightmare – here's how the ICO plans to crack down on misuseNews The ICO has issued guidance for recruiters and AI developers after finding that many are mishandling data
-
“You must do better”: Information Commissioner John Edwards calls on firms to beef up support for data breach victimsNews Companies need to treat victims with swift, practical action, according to the ICO
-
96% of SMBs are missing critical cybersecurity skills – here's whyNews The skills shortage hits SMBs worse as they often suffer from a lack of budget and resources
-
LinkedIn backtracks on AI training rules after user backlashNews UK-based LinkedIn users will now get the same protections as those elsewhere in Europe
-
UK's data protection watchdog deepens cooperation with National Crime AgencyNews The two bodies want to improve the support given to organizations experiencing cyber attacks and ransomware recovery
-
ICO slams Electoral Commission over security failuresNews The Electoral Commission has been reprimanded for poor security practices, including a failure to install security updates and weak password policies
