UK councils must take action after data leaks

Two British councils have agreed to take action after personal information related to children was lost because the data was not being properly protected.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) found Sandwell Borough Metropolitan Council in breach of the data protection act after an unencrypted USB memory stick containing personal information on four families was lost. The sensitive data included details on why children had been placed in care, or put on a Child Protection Plan

Meanwhile, Wigan Council has agreed to comply with the UK Data Protection Act after the a laptop was stolen containing personal information about most children and young people in its schools (approximately 43,000 youngsters). The sensitive data had been…

Read more in my article on the Naked Security website.

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Graham Cluley •   @gcluley

Graham Cluley is a veteran of the anti-virus industry having worked for a number of security companies since the early 1990s when he wrote the first ever version of Dr Solomon's Anti-Virus Toolkit for Windows. Now an independent security analyst, he regularly makes media appearances and is an international public speaker on the topic of computer security, hackers, and online privacy. Follow him on Twitter at @gcluley, on Mastodon at @[email protected], or drop him an email.