Approved by Secretary of State for Justice Jack Straw, the Information Commissioner’s Office has revealed that from April 6th, 2010, hefty fines will be made for companies that lose large amounts of data. After a number of serious security breaches in confidential data have been made over the past few years, the £500,000 fine can be imposed on any institution found guilty of not taking sufficient safety.
Determining the size of the fine after an internal investigation of the incident, firms will be assessed on how much damage could be done by the breach of information in addition to whether the leak was deliberate or not. With both the Ministry of Defence and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) losing large amounts of highly confidential data in the last few years, the new law aims to increase security and decrease similar cases from occurring in the future.
Speaking of the move to instigate better safety procedures within firms, Christopher Graham from the Information Commissioner explained “These penalties are designed to act as a deterrent. I remain committed to working with voluntary, public and private bodies to help them stick to the rules and comply with the Act (Data Protection Act). But I will not hesitate to use these tough new sanctions for the most serious cases where organisations disregard the law.” He added “When things go wrong, a security breach can cause real harm and great distress to thousands of people.”
