A school has been accused of breaching data laws after it sent a 10-year-old boy home with a computer memory stick which contained sensitive information about his fellow pupils. Carlos McSweeney, who attends the key stage two support centre in Fairlawn Road, Montpelier – a school for children with behaviour problems – was given the…
Category: Non-U.S.
UK: Navy to investigate security breach
Henry McDonald reports: Royal Navy investigators flew to Belfast last week after a memory stick containing “restricted” information on naval manoeuvres and personnel around the UK was reported missing. The Observer has learnt that two senior detectives from the Royal Navy Police’s Special Investigation Branch met members of the Police Service of Northern Ireland to…
NZ: Civil service warned: do more to protect privacy
Kara Segedin reports: Privacy commissioner Marie Shroff released her report for the year ending June 30, 2009 showing critical failings in government departments’ handling of information. […] There were 806 privacy complaints this year, up 22 per cent from last year. “I have given the public sector a wake-up call to better protect privacy, in…
UK: Laptop Theft Debated by Councillors
A four-day lapse between council staff realising a laptop containing nearly 15,000 postal voter details was missing and reporting it to police was called into question last week. A preliminary report containing the chronology of events surrounding the theft of the laptop – which contained names, addresses, dates of birth and signatures – was put…
ICO publishes guide to Data Protection Act
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has produced a new plain English Guide to Data Protection to provide businesses and organizations with practical advice about the Data Protection Act and dispel myths. The guide will help organizations safeguard personal data and comply with the law. The guide takes a straight-forward look at the principles of the…
Stolen laptop held birth data on all Belizeans
I supposed it was inevitable. A country’s entire population has had their birth certificate information stolen — and yes, because a laptop was left in an employee’s car. Channel 5 in Belize reports: Police are investigating the theft of a laptop that they fear could result in cases of identity theft. That’s because the stolen…