Locks and Security News: your weekly locks and security industry newsletter
17th April 2024 Issue no. 701
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ICO 'sounds the alarm' over data breaches within the legal profession
Hopefully you will not encounter any legal issues in the course of your work, but if you do it might be useful to be aware of what the legal profession must do to keep the personal information they handle secure.
The Information Commissioner has issued a warning to barristers and solicitors about the need to keep personal information secure. The warning comes after 15 incidents involving the loss of personal information by legal professionals have been reported to the ICO within the past three months.
The nature of the information handled by barristers and solicitors is often very sensitive. Barristers and solicitors are also generally classed as data controllers in their own right, which means that they could face a monetary penalty of up to £500,000 for a serious breach of the DPA, provided the incident has the potential to cause substantial damage and substantial distress to affected individuals.
Now the Information Commissioner has highlighted the need to 'sound the alarm at an early stage to make sure this problem is addressed.'
27th August 2014