Tag: ICO

Data breaches put domestic abuse victims’ lives at risk, UK Information Commissioner warns

Stuart Mitchell

The UK Information Commissioner has called on organisations to handle personal information properly to avoid putting victims of domestic abuse at the risk of further danger. Since June 2022, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued reprimands to seven organisations for data breaches affecting victims of domestic abuse. They include: Four cases of organisations revealing the safe addresses of the victims to their alleged abuser. In one case a family had to be immediately moved to emergency accommodation. Revealing identities of women seeking information about their partners to those partners.…

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ICO to review period and fertility tracking apps as poll shows more than half of women are concerned over data security

Stuart Mitchell

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is reviewing period and fertility apps as new figures show more than half of women have concerns over data security. A poll commissioned by the regulator revealed women said transparency over how their data was used (59%) and how secure it was (57%) were bigger concerns than cost (55%) and ease of use (55%) when it came to choosing an app. The poll showed a third of women have used apps to track periods or fertility. The research also showed over half of people who…

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ICO publishes new guidance on sending bulk communications by email

Stuart Mitchell

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued a warning to organisations to use alternatives to the blind carbon copy (BCC) email function when sending emails containing sensitive personal information, following a catalogue of business blunders. The warning comes as the ICO publishes new guidance to help organisations understand the law and good practice around protecting personal information when sending bulk emails. Mihaela Jembei, ICO Director of Regulatory Cyber, said: “Failure to use BCC correctly in emails is one of the top data breaches reported to us every year – and…

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ICO consultation on the draft biometric data guidance

Stuart Mitchell

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is producing guidance on biometric data and biometric technologies. The first phase of this guidance (draft biometric data guidance) is now published for public consultation. The second phase of this guidance (biometric classification and data protection) will include a call for evidence early next year.  The draft biometric data guidance explains how data protection law applies when you use biometric data in biometric recognition systems. The consultation will run from 18 August to 20 October 2023. Further Reading ICO consultation on the draft biometric data…

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Harmful online design encourages consumers to hand over personal information

Stuart Mitchell

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) are calling for businesses to stop using harmful website designs that can trick consumers into giving up more of their personal data than they would like. Practices include overly complicated privacy controls, default settings that give less control over personal information and bundling privacy choices together in ways that push consumers to share more data than they would otherwise wish to do. Where consumers lack effective control over how their data is collected and used, this can harm consumers…

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