DataBreaches.Net

Menu
  • About
  • Breach Notification Laws
  • Privacy Policy
  • Transparency Report
Menu

UK: ICO issues £150,000 monetary penalty to Dyfed-Powys Police over data protection breach

Posted on June 8, 2016 by Dissent

It’s one of those “small breaches, big potential harm situations.”

The Dyfed-Powys Police force has been fined£150,000 after an email containing information that could be used to identify eight sex offenders was sent to a member of the public in error.

The monetary penalty notice explains that the community member’s email address (an external email) was in an officer’s contact list in Outlook. The contact list was initially intended to be used for internal emails, and when the individual sent a series of emails that included information on eight registered sex offenders, it was sent to the list.

The recipient notified the sender of the error promptly, but there were a series of replies that were also sent to the community member. One of the factors the ICO considered in determining that a monetary penalty was appropriate was the fact that the police did not take remedial action until after 6 emails had been sent to the community member.

The information in the email contained names, addresses, telephone numbers, and email addresses and sufficient information for the recipient to infer that these eight people were sex offenders. Given the rural nature of the area and the kinds of information, the ICO determined that the risk of the recipient knowing the data subjects or being able to identify them would be high, and the distress to the data subjects would be great.

Those whose data were exposed were notified of the breach.

 

Category: ExposureGovernment SectorNon-U.S.

Post navigation

← uTorrent forums hacked, change your passwords
Second Circuit Holds Insurers Have Duty to Defend Data Trap Lawsuit →

Now more than ever

"Stand with Ukraine:" above raised hands. The illustration is in blue and yellow, the colors of Ukraine's flag.

Search

Browse by Categories

Recent Posts

  • Why Dumping Sensitive Data on Network Shares is a Liability
  • A militarily degraded Iran may turn to asymmetrical warfare – raising risk of proxy and cyber attacks
  • Pro-Russian hackers disrupt Dutch government websites ahead of NATO summit
  • Iran-Linked Threat Actors Leak Visitors and Athletes’ Data from Saudi Games
  • UK: Oxford City Council still investigating cyberattack from earlier this month
  • Steelmaker Nucor Says Hackers Stole Data in Recent Attack
  • People’s Republic of China cyber threat activity: Cyber Threat Bulletin
  • Ukrainian Web3 security auditing company Hacken suffered an attack that allowed a hacker to create 900 million HAI tokens
  • McLaren provides written notice to 743,131 patients after ransomware attack in July 2024 (2)
  • A state forensics lab was leaking its files. Getting it locked down involved a number of people.

No, You Can’t Buy a Post or an Interview

This site does not accept sponsored posts or link-back arrangements. Inquiries about either are ignored.

And despite what some trolls may try to claim: DataBreaches has never accepted even one dime to interview or report on anyone. Nor will DataBreaches ever pay anyone for data or to interview them.

Want to Get Our RSS Feed?

Grab it here:

https://databreaches.net/feed/

RSS Recent Posts on PogoWasRight.org

  • Sky Views Personal Data as a Potential Weapon in IPTV Piracy War
  • Florida Used a Nationwide Surveillance Camera Network 250 Times To Aid in Immigration Arrests
  • Federal Court Strikes Down HIPAA Reproductive Health Care Privacy Rule
  • The Markup caught 4 more states sharing personal health data with Big Tech
  • Privacy in the Big Sky State: Montana’s Consumer Privacy Law Gets Amended
  • UK Passes Data Use and Access Regulation Bill
  • Officials defend Liberal bill that would force hospitals, banks, hotels to hand over data

Have a News Tip?

Email: Tips[at]DataBreaches.net

Signal: +1 516-776-7756

Contact Me

Email: info[at]databreaches.net

Mastodon: Infosec.Exchange/@PogoWasRight

Signal: +1 516-776-7756

DMCA Concern: dmca[at]databreaches.net
© 2009 – 2025 DataBreaches.net and DataBreaches LLC. All rights reserved.