A council has been accused of putting residents who report litter and graffiti at risk from the perpetrators after the authority breached data protection laws by posting online the identities of those providing the tip-offs. Data protection watchdogs at the Information Commissioner’s Office have deemed that York Council has broken guidelines after it emerged the authority’s online…
Category: Non-U.S.
NZ: Inland Revenue Department has had 32 privacy breaches in the past year.
ONE News in New Zealand reveals a government department has had a series of privacy breaches. Following soon after the breach involving the Ministry of Social Development, reports of inadequate data protection involving the Inland Revenue Department are just what the government doesn’t need. Even worse, the department is getting a black eye in the press for…
NZ: Inmates’ details put on Facebook
Shane Cowlishaw reports: A prisoner took a muster sheet containing the details of 52 other inmates out of jail, and posted it on Facebook. Milton prison in South Otago learned of the latest public sector privacy breach last weekend, after discovering the inmate had managed to sneak the sheet out when he was freed. The…
Stoke-on-Trent City Council fined £120k after mis-sent email disclosed sensitive child data (update 2)
Public Service reports: Stoke-on-Trent City Council has been hit with a major fine after sensitive information on a child protection case was emailed to the wrong person, the Information Commissioner’s Office has confirmed. The ICO, which can fine up to £500,000 for serious breaches of the Data Protection Act, said the £120,000 fine issued to…
Scottish Borders Council appeals ICO’s fine
Scottish Borders Council has appealed the £250,000 fine imposed by the ICO following a data protection breach in which employees’ information was found unshredded in supermarket recycling bins. Southern Reporter reports that the ICO has until November 2 to respond to the appeal and the decision will be made by a three-judge panel.
ICO: Education ministry BROKE the Data Protection Act
Kelly Fiveash reports from the U.K.: The Department for Education broke the Data Protection Act after it exposed the email addresses, unencrypted passwords and sensitive answers of members of the public who filled in an online form about parental controls on the net, The Register can reveal. However – despite the breach – the Information Commissioner’s Office…