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ARTICLE · 18 JULY 2012

A Hard (Drive) Lesson To Be Learned

Rawlison Butler LLP
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Rawlison Butler Commerce & Technology Partner Mark O’Shea considers the impact of a recent ICO fine for data protection breaches and suggests ways to minimise your risk.

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Mark O'Shea
Mark O'Shea

Rawlison Butler Commerce & Technology Partner Mark O'Shea considers the impact of a recent ICO fine for data protection breaches and suggests ways to minimise your risk.  

 A recent record fine of £325,000 imposed by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) on a Brighton NHS Trust for data protection breaches has again brought the subject of data theft into sharp focus.

According to the BBC, highly sensitive personal data belonging to patients and staff was taken from Brighton General Hospital in 2010. That data apparently included details of patients' medical conditions and treatments, children's reports and disability living allowance forms. It also included staff details including National Insurance numbers, home addresses, hospital IDs and information on criminal convictions.

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