Data Protection Security Policies – How Secure Are You?

Recent action taken by the Information Commissioner's Office ("ICO") continues to highlight the importance of ensuring businesses and public bodies have robust security in place, particularly when it comes to the use of laptops, memory sticks and emails. Breaches may have severe consequences.

Since 6 April 2010, the ICO has had the power to issue monetary penalty notices, requiring organisations to pay up to £500,000 for serious breaches of the data protection principles under Data Protection Act 1998 (the "DPA"), where the breach was of a kind likely to cause substantial damage or distress and either the contravention was deliberate or the data controller ought to have known the risk of contravention likely to have those effects but failed to take reasonable steps to prevent it. In February this year, the ICO fined the Councils of Ealing and Hounslow £80,000 and £70,000 respectively, in connection with the theft of two laptops from an employee's home. The laptops