UK Information Commissioner Calls Privacy Breaches 'Unacceptable'

The Information Commissioner is calling on UK chief executives to take the security of employees' and customers' personal information more seriously. His call follows a number of unacceptable security breaches over the last year, involving leading names such as Orange and several high street banks.

"How can millions of store cards fall into the wrong hands? How can online recruitment allow applicants to see each others' forms?"


Information Commissioner Richard Thomas said: "Over the last year we have seen far too many careless and inexcusable breaches of people's personal information. The roll call of banks, retailers, government departments, public bodies and other organizations which have admitted serious security lapses is frankly horrifying.

"How can laptops holding details of customer accounts be used away from the office without strong encryption? How can millions of store cards fall into the wrong hands? How can online recruitment allow applicants to see each others' forms? How can any bank chief executive face customers and shareholders and admit that loan rejections, health insurance applications, credit cards and bank statements can be found, unsecured in non-confidential waste bags?

"Business and public sector leaders must take their data protection obligations more seriously. The majority of organizations process personal information appropriately -- but privacy must be given more priority in every UK boardroom. Organizations that fail to process personal information in line with the Principles of the Data Protection Act not only risk enforcement action by the ICO, they also risk losing the trust of their customers."

The Information Commissioner's annual report highlights that the ICO received almost 24,000 enquiries and complaints concerning personal information in 2006/7. The ICO has prosecuted 16 individuals and organisations in the last 12 months and two Parliamentary inquiries have started following the Commissioner's call for a debate on the UK's 'surveillance society'.