Today the Information Commisioner rebuked the Alzheimer’s Society after it found the charity in breach of the Data Protection Act.
Folllowing 3 breaches of the Data Protection Act (DPA) including the theft of an unencrypted laptop from their office in London the charity has agreed to smarten up its act - unfortunately too late for the thousands of staff whose personal details, including National Insurance numbers and salary details.
The Information Commissioner (the "Commissioner") was provided with a report that several unencrypted laptop computers, one of which contained personal data relating to around 1,000 staff, were stolen from the data controller’s Cardiff office during a burglary at the end of August 2009.
The laptops had been returned to the office for encryption, but this had not yet taken place when the theft occurred. One machine contained names, addresses, National Insurance numbers and salary details for staff across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, held in an Excel spreadsheet. The laptops were neither physically secured by cable locks, nor locked away securely. This was the third data security incident reported by the data controller to the Commissioner during 2009. The Commissioner’s enquiries also revealed that staff did not receive any formal data protection training.
Please no comments about them forgetting to encrypt or where they left the laptop!
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