Workers warned over data breach fines

22 Apr 2010

Some city employees are unaware of the cost of fines for data breaches, research has shown.

New fines of £500,000 were brought into force by the Information Commissioner's Office for breaching data protection laws.

However, research by security firm BlockMaster found that 42% of workers in Canary Wharf were unaware of the cost and believed a fine would cost no more than £10,000.

Furthermore almost a fifth of employees had lost a portable device in the last three years, while more than 60% value their own possessions, such as a mobile phone, over portable work devices.

Employees have been warned to be aware of the dangers of losing business data and value its content.

Anders Pettersson, CSO at BlockMaster, said: "It isn't too surprising that employees were unaware of the implementation of the ICO data fines. However, it is shocking to learn that employees only consider there to be a cost involved in replacing a physical device, such as a laptop or USB drive.

"We need to get the message across to organisations and employees that data is more than just a file stored on a device, it has a monetary value and could seriously harm an organisation if it got into the wrong hands."

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