Peter A Clarke

The Information Commissioner has fined Kent Police £80,000 for providing the data contained in a woman’s mobile phone to her ex partner’s solicitor.  The solicitor disclosed that information to his client, the woman’s ex partner.  That person happened to be a member of the Kent Police.

On the technical side the case highlights Read the rest of this entry »

The phone hacking scandal in the UK, with the News of the World being the biggest offender, has had a seismic effect on regulation, not to mention giving the law of privacy a kick a long. The scandal Read the rest of this entry »

The Information Commissioner has produced a very useful guide relating to IT security.  It is Read the rest of this entry »

It is a blessing of the digital age that charities can use information in a far more effective way than was previously the case.  Costs of administration in storing information on line should be less than maintaining bulky documents in cabinets.  Using algorithms instead of guesswork helps fund raising and using email Read the rest of this entry »

In the United Kingdom the Information Commissioner has been busy of late fining Pharmacy 2U £130,000  for selling details of its customers and the Crown Prosecution Service for serious breaches of data security.  While the Information Commissioner has had his critics over time he is quite strong on dealing with data security breaches and has imposed swingeing penalties in the past, and Read the rest of this entry »

The Talk Talk breach has had knock on effects, none good for TalkTalk Breach.  The regulator, the Information Commissioner’s Office, has become involved.  The ICO issued a release stating:

“The ICO is aware of this incident, which was reported to us on Thursday afternoon. We will be making enquiries and liaising with the Police.

“Any time personal data is lost there can be a risk of identity theft. There are measures you can take to guard against identity theft, for instance being vigilant around items on your credit card statements or checking your credit ratings. There are tips and information about identity theft available on our website.”

The ICO will no doubt be Read the rest of this entry »

Proper enforcement by privacy regulators is critically important to establishing a culture of privacy compliance.  There are also strong public policy reasons to ensure that the privacy laws are not ignored.  The Federal Trade Commission in the United States has been quite assertive in using the limited powers it has to ensure that businesses do not mislead on privacy protections used or privacy enhancing products that are sold.  The UK Information Commissioner’s office has also been quite rigorous in taking action for privacy breaches.  Unfortunately the Australian Privacy Commissioner has adopted an entirely different approach.  He has been restrained to the point of timid.  Perhaps worse When action has been taken the outcome has been anaemic.

The ICO has fined the Money Shop the swinging sum of £180,000 for loss of data due to Read the rest of this entry »

The UK Information commissioner has issued the South Wales Police with a swinging £160,000 fine for losing a highly sensitive Read the rest of this entry »

The UK Information Commissioner’s Monetary Penalty Notice against the Serious Fraud Office highlights both the need to have secure means of handling personal information and the consequences of releasing very sensitive information to the wrong party. The notice also Read the rest of this entry »

On 15 October 2014 the UK Information Commissioner’s office issued its updated CCTV code of practice (found here). As the press release notes the UK is one of the leading users of CCTV in the world.  Australia fares poorly by comparison with the UK in terms of privacy protections through the use of CCTV.  The absence of Read the rest of this entry »