Peter A Clarke

The BBC reports in Domestic abuse privacy breach: Greater Manchester Police pays victim on a catastrophic series of blunders by police in Manchester in releasing personal information of a domestic abuse victim into the public domain.  The victim agreed that the police could use her experience in training sessions.  The caveat was that she would remain anonymous.  Not an unreasonable request and Read the rest of this entry »

A perennial problem in data security is staff taking data off site through lap tops and bring your own devices, usually USB sticks.  The problem is more than removing the data offsite though that can and is a real challenge in data management.  The significant issue is ensuring data is secure when it is off site.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (the “ICO”) has issued a Monetary Penalty Notice, fining a nursing home in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, £15,000 for failing to secure sensitive personal data.  The breach occurred Read the rest of this entry »

Document management is the bane of many organisations.  Take that issue and put it on steroids and that is the scale of the potential disaster that awaits a breakdown in handling personal information.  Government agencies collect a large amount of personal information and are geared towards keeping detailed files.  That means a large volume of documentation.

The Hampshire County Council has been fined £100,000 as a result of 45 bags of confidential waste found in a disused building.  The documents contained sensitive information about adults and children in vulnerable situations.

It is a case of a failure to Read the rest of this entry »

The Federal Trade Commission has finalised its orders against ASUSTek Computer arising out its failure to take reasonable steps to secure software on its routers despite make promises about security.  The terms of the settlement are onerous.  As they should be.  It would be Read the rest of this entry »