Utilize IT Support - New £500K fine for firms that lose data

New £500K fine for firms that lose data

Tough new penalties for data security breaches came into force this month delivering a wakeup call to UK business owners. So this could be a good time to tighten up on network security and review you policies on storing client data.

Following several high profile cases, the government has granted the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) the power to fine companies up to £500,000 – that’s 100 times the previous total – for the most serious cases of data loss.

Businesses forced to reassess network security

The Information Commissioner may have promised to take a “pragmatic and proportionate” approach to the issuing of penalties but these new powers are forcing thousands of UK firms to reconsider the way they record, store and backup confidential customer data.

A fine of £500,000 would be far more than most SME businesses could bear, although many factors will be taken into account including an organisation’s financial resources, sector, size and the severity of the data breach, to ensure that undue financial hardship is not imposed on an organisation.

Nonetheless, Information Commissioner, Christopher Graham says he is ready to implement these new sanctions.
Graham commented: “Getting data protection right has never been more important than it is today. As citizens, we are increasingly asked to complete transactions online, with the state, banks and other organisations using huge databases to store our personal details. When things go wrong, a security breach can cause real harm and great distress to thousands of people.”

Speak to Utilize about securing your data

There really has never been a better time to review your own network security policies and your Utilize Account Manager would be happy to assist. Our Sophos Endpoint security technology can prevent staff downloading confidential client data to USB keys that can be removed from site and Sophos Encryption technology will help secure the data that may be stored on laptop computers.

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