Norwood, an adoption charity that was fined 70,000 by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) last week for breaching data protection regulations, has hinted that it may appeal the judgement.
The charity has described the ICO fine as "disproportionate" to the severity of the breach, and - on these grounds - has "reserved the right" to launch an appeal.
In a letter to IT Pro, Elaine Kerr, the charity's chief executive, hit out at the ICO's claim the breach was the result of staff receiving "inadequate training" on handling sensitive data.
"[This] was an obvious lapse in judgement by one individual employed by Norwood," wrote Kerr.
"It is clear the incident was in no way a reflection of our practice, policies or guidelines, but rather an act of human error."
It is clear the incident was an act of human error.
Kerr was keen to stress that no harm had been caused to anyone affected by the breach.
Norwood, named in the ruling as Norwood Ravenswood, was fined after one of the charity's social workers left sensitive documents about four children in its care outside the home of some prospective adopters.
A spokesperson for the ICO told IT Pro that it is unable to comment on Norwood's plans to appeal at this time.
