publicSIRO

Over 500 public sector data security breaches have been reported to the Information Commissioner in the past two years, new figures show.

Latest statistics released by the ICO show public sector bodies made up the majority of the 818 breaches reported since November 2007.

According to the watchdog, the NHS accounted for almost half of the cases involving the public sector. Health bodies reported a total of 240 separate security incidents, 97 of which related to the loss of data or hardware.

Local authorities notified the ICO on 101 occassions, while central government bodies admitted to 71 incidents.

Some 262 out of the 818 incidents were the result of theft, often where the personal information was held on an unencrypted portable device, the ICO said.

David Smith, Deputy Commissioner, said:

“In just over two months a further 100 organisations have reported data security breaches to us. We are keen to work with organisations to prevent breaches occurring in the first place and to help put things right when things do go wrong. Talking to us may of course result in regulatory action. However, organisations must act responsibly; those that try to cover up breaches which we subsequently become aware of are likely to face tougher regulatory sanctions.”

For a full breakdown of the incidents, see the table below.

Related Documents

ICO Data Breach Table,  26 January 2010