The list of organisations that have lost confidential data continues to grow. Given that only high profile breaches are coming to public notice, no one really knows how widespread the problem is becoming. In the USA, organisations are required to report such events, but this is not currently the case in the UK.
The Government has signalled its intention to bring in new legislation to force organisations to take data protection issues more seriously. The proposal is to give increased power to the Office of the Information
Commissioner. This will include the ability to carry out spot checks on Government departments without first gaining permission and making data breaches a criminal offence attracting up to a two year custodial
sentence.
Law firms are already encouraging their clients to act now to protect themselves. Dominic Saunders, Operations Director at NETconsent advises “Organisations need to become much more proactive when communicating their information procedures and policies, if they want to be confident that their staff are fully aware of and understand the importance of adhering to stated best practice. The ability to prove who has
seen what and when is now crucial evidence in legal cases. NETconsent software makes this information available at the touch of a button.”
Call on +44(0)870 013 1600 to arrange an online demonstration for any of your colleagues who do not know how easy it is to automate the policy management lifecycle to reduce risk and alleviate audit problems. |