Data Protection Policies – what do businesses need?

September 2023

Under EU and UK data protection law businesses need to make sure they have ‘appropriate technical and organisational measures’ in place to protect personal data. Organisational measures include making sure staff receive adequate data protection training and guidance about how they should handle personal data.

In my experience, people are keen to ‘do the right thing’ with personal data, but are sometimes unsure how to go about it.

This is where well-crafted policies can really help, sitting alongside and integrated with employee training. Unfortunately people often have a negative view of policies. Long-winded policies, full of impenetrable jargon which regurgitates the law can turn people off.

A vanilla one-size fits all approach has little value… but there’s a much better way. A well-written, easy-to-read, concise policy can communicate ‘what good looks like’ for your business and explain how your people should behave to deliver good practice.

Yes, you absolutely need to take into account what the law says. A policy should identify key risk areas, but crucially it should also tell your people how they should act to meet your company standards – which include legal compliance.

Don’t shy away from stressing the benefits for your business of acting responsibly. Focus on the needs of your business sector and the unique nature of your businesses processing.

Make policies relevant to your workforce and how your business operates. Even better if you can, tie-in the launch of improved data policies with data protection training, which shares the main themes from the policies, this can really bring them to life , improve awareness and reinforce positive behaviours.

What data protection related policies are needed?

First decide which policies you actually need and how they should fit together. My favoured approach is to have just two ‘parent’ data policies, a Data Protection Policy and an Information Security Policy, then link out to ‘child’ policies or procedures which sit below them.

You might consider a third parent policy, such as Acceptable Use, but personally I prefer information about acceptable use to be included within the Data Protection and Information Security policies, so people don’t have to search around.

Here’s a typical Policy Framework, showing the two ‘parent’ policies and examples of possible ‘child’ policies or procedures below.

The range of policies you’ll need will vary from business to business. A small company, with a handful of employees, processing relatively less sensitive data won’t need a raft of policies.

Many micro or small businesses may just focus on having a Data Protection Policy (which covers the data lifecycle from creation through to retention) and an Information Security Policy. Alongside these you’ll definitely need a clear procedure for handling data breaches and individual privacy rights.

How to write helpful, practical data protection policies

As said, too often policy documents are littered with legalise and jargon. Sometimes it feels like a policy has to be formal and massively detailed. Not true. People shouldn’t need a lot of specialist knowledge to understand your policies, particularly those aimed at ALL staff. Straight-forward instructions are more likely to be read, which means more people are likely to follow them.

Take a look at the way your policies are written. Are they a bit dry? If they could do with freshening up, here are some simple do’s and don’ts to consider:

Do’s

  • use everyday words in place of jargon
  • explain any necessary terminology in plain English
  • break up blocks of text with headings, lists and tables
  • highlight key messages you want to get across
  • include useful tips
  • give useful examples tailored to your business
  • rope in your Comms or L&D team to help simplify things (or anyone who’s good with words)
  • cut out detail by linking to other related policies, guidelines, procedures
  • ask for feedback – how often do people use them? Do they find them helpful? What would make them better?

Don’ts

  • avoid complex language / legalese
  • avoid ‘insider’ jargon – why say ‘data subject’ if you could say people, individuals, customers, patients etc?
  • avoid cut-and-paste definitions from GDPR text – where you use data protection terms, such as controller, processor, third-party, anonymisation, automated decision-making explain what these mean in layman’s terms
  • Avoid information overload

Of course, balance is important. While overly complex policies will gather dust, we need to include enough useful and important information to get key messages across. We’re not talking about talking down to people or patronising them, either.

Of course, we also need to make sure people are aware of relevant policies and can easily lay their hands on them.

How to communicate data protection policies

I’d recommend you host policies on your Intranet, if you have one, and create them in the form of web pages rather than PDFs. It’s good practice to include hyperlinks to and from topic-specific guidance notes, so people can easily navigate to find more about a specific topic. This helps you to keep the parent policies short and concise – easy to digest.

When you carry out data protection training, remind people where to find related policies. In fact throughout the year use near-misses, news stories and other events to reinforce key messages and point to your policies.

Well-crafted easy to digest data protection related policies will go a long way to guide staff on how you expect them to handle and keep personal data secure in their day-to-day roles. But as always proportionality is key, a smaller business handling fairly insensitive data wouldn’t be expected to have multiple policies.

Data breaches – human or a catalogue of errors?

August 2023

Why systems fail

The recent spate of serious data breaches, not least the awful case involving the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), left me wondering: who’s really to blame? We’re used to hearing about human error, but is it too easy to point the finger?

Is it really the fault of the person who pressed the send button? An old adage comes to mind, ‘success has a thousand fathers, failure is an orphan.’

Of course, people make mistakes. Training, technology and procedures can easily fail if ignored, either wilfully or otherwise. Yes, people are part of the equation. But that’s what it is. An equation. There are usually other factors at play.

In the PSNI case – one involving safety-critical data – I would argue there’s a strong argument that any system allowing such unredacted material to enter an FOIA environment in the first place is flawed?

Nobody is immune from human error. About nine years ago, on my second day in a new compliance role, I left my rucksack on the train. Doh! Luckily, there was no personal data relating to my new employer inside. I lost my workplace starter pack and had to cancel my debit card. I recall the sinking feeling as my new boss said, ‘well, that’s a bit embarrassing for someone in your job’. It was. But I knew it could have been so much worse.

Approximately 80% of data breaches are classified by the Information Commissioner’s Office as being caused by human error. Common mistakes include:

  • Email containing personal data sent to the wrong recipients
  • Forwarding attachments containing personal data in error
  • Failing to notice hidden tabs or lines in spreadsheets which contain personal data (this is one of the causes cited in the PSNI case)
  • Sensitive mail going to the wrong postal address (yes, a properly old-fashioned dead wood data breach!)

However, sometimes I hear about human error breaches and don’t think ‘how did someone accidently do that?’ Instead, I wonder…

  • Why didn’t anyone spot the inherent risk of having ALL those records in an unprotected spreadsheet in the first place?
  • Why wasn’t there a system in place to prevent people being able to forget to blind copy email recipients?
  • Is anyone reviewing responses to Data Subject Access Requests or FOI requests? What level of supervision / QA exists in that organisation?
  • Why is it acceptable for someone to take confidential papers out of their office?

I could go on.

Technical and Organisational Measures (TOMs)

Rather than human error, should we be blaming a lack of appropriate technical and organisational measures (TOMs) to protect personal data? A fundamental data protection requirement.

We all know robust procedures and security measures can mitigate the risk of human error. A simple example – I know employees who receive an alert if they’re about to send an attachment containing personal data without a password.

Alongside this, data protection training is a must, but it should never be a ‘tick box’ exercise. It shouldn’t be a case of annual online training module completed; no further action required! We need to make sure training is relevant and effective and delivers key learning points and messages. Training should be reinforced with regular awareness campaigns. Using mistakes (big or small) as case studies are a good way to keep people alert to the risks. This is another reason why post-event investigation is so important as a lesson-learning exercise.

Rather than being a liability, if we arm people with enough knowledge they can become our greatest asset in preventing data breaches.

Chatting with my husband about this, he mentioned a boss once asking him to provide some highly sensitive information on a spreadsheet. Despite the seniority and insistence of the individual, my husband refused. He offered an alternative solution, with protecting people’s data at heart. Armed with enough knowledge, he knew what he had been asked to do was foolhardy.

Lessons from previous breaches

It’s too early to call what precisely led to these recent breaches:

  • The Police Service of Northern Ireland releasing a spreadsheet containing the details of 10,000 police officers and other staff public in response to a Freedom of Information Request
  • Norfolk and Suffolk Police accidentally releasing details of victims and witnesses of crime
  • Scottish genealogy website revealing thousands of adopted children’s names.

However, we can learn from previous breaches and the findings of previous ICO investigations.

You may recall the case of Heathrow Airport’s lost unencrypted memory stick. Although ostensibly a case of human error, the ICO established the Airport failed not only ‘to ensure that the personal data held on its network was properly secured’, but also failed to provide sufficient training in relation to data protection and information security. The person blamed for the breach was unaware the memory stick should have been encrypted in the first place.

Then there was the Cabinet Office breach in which people’s home addresses we published publicly in the New Year’s Honours list. The actual person who published the list must’ve had a nightmare, when they realised what had happened. But the ICO findings revealed a new IT system was rushed in and set up incorrectly. The procedure given for people to follow was incorrect. A tight deadline meant short-cuts were taken. The Cabinet Office was found to have been complacent.

The lesson here? Data breaches aren’t always solely the fault of the person pressing the ‘send’ button. Too often,  systems and procedures have already failed. Data protection is a mindset. A culture. Not an add-on. As the PSNI has sadly discovered, in the most awful of circumstances.

The impact breaches can have on employees, customers, victims of crime, patients and so on, can be devastating. Just the knowledge that their data is ‘out there’ can cause distress and worry.

Data protection law doesn’t spell out what businesses must do. To know where data protection risks lie, we need to know what personal data we have across the business and what it’s being used for.  Risks need to be assessed and managed. And the measures put in place need to be proportionate to the risk.

Privacy Notices Quick Guide

The right to be informed

All businesses need an external facing Privacy Notice, aka Privacy Policy, if collecting and handling people’s personal information.

Data protection law tells us we must provide people with easily accessible and specific privacy information when we collect their data. This guide sets out the key considerations and core requirements our Privacy Notices.

privacy notice guide from the data protection consultancy DPN - Data Protection Network

Top 10 Data Protection Tips for SMEs

January 2023

Is it onerous for SMEs to become compliant?

One of the stated aims of the UK Government’s Data Protection and Digital Information Bill is to support small businesses and remove unnecessary bureaucracy. 

As context, there are 5.6m businesses in UK of which SMEs (less than 250 employees) represents 99% of the total. According to IAPP research approximately 32,000 organisations in UK have a registered DPO. It’s right, therefore, to focus on SMEs. 

But how onerous is small business data protection now? Arguably, the answer is, not as onerous as you might think. We’ve created a top 10 checklist for start-ups and small businesses to help you decide what you should be concerned with: 

1.     Do I need to worry about data protection regulation? 

Yes. Pretty much any business processing personal data for commercial purposes need to worry about data protection. (It does not apply to purely ‘personal or household activity’). Having said that, the law and regulatory advice focuses on taking a ‘proportionate’ approach. There’s no one size fits all and it will depend on the risk appetite of your organisation. 

2.     Do I need a DPO?

Probably not. If the answer to these three questions is no, you don’t need a DPO…

  • Are you a public authority or body?
  • Do your core business activities require regular and systematic monitoring of individuals on a large scale?
  • Do your core business activities involve processing on a large scale ‘special category data’, or criminal convictions or offences data?

Even if you don’t need a DPO, it’s wise to nominate someone in your organisation as a data protection lead. This does not need to be a full-time role. Alternatively, you can outsource this activity to someone/a company who can provide the support on a part-time basis. 

3.     Do I need a RoPA (Record of Processing Activity)

Maybe. There’s no escaping the fact RoPAs are challenging documents to complete and can absorb a huge amount of time. Companies with more than 250 employees must always keep a RoPA – that’s just under 8,000 businesses in UK.

If you have less than 250 employees, you don’t need a RoPA if the following applies:

  • Processing does not pose a risk to the rights and freedoms of the data subject 
  • No special category data is being processed
  • If the processing is only done occasionally

The debate start when you consider what constitutes a ‘risk to the rights and freedom of the data subject’. It’s worth considering the type of data you handle rather than the volumes to help you decide whether to complete a RoPA. As a start up, you may not need a RoPA as defined in the legislation. However, having a record of what information is processed, for what purpose and under what lawful basis is a good idea even if the ICO RoPA form is not. 

There are changes afoot with regards to the RoPA under UK data reform plans, but a record of your activities may still be necessary, just not as current prescribed.

4.     Do I need to register with ICO?

Almost certainly YES. The ICO asks all businesses that process personal data to pay the Data Protection Fee. This is used to fund the ICO and its activities. This isn’t onerous. In fact, most small businesses will only have to pay £40 (or £35 with a direct debit). And that’s before you’ve considered whether you’re exempt. Not for profit status is a possible example. 

 5.     Do I need a privacy notice (policy)?

Yes. A privacy notice is a foundational piece of your data protection work. Any organisation which processes personal data needs to set out what data they are processing and how they are processing it as well as the data subject’s rights. The ICO’s checklist provides very clear guidance for what must be in a notice and what might be in a notice.

6.     How about a cookie notice?

Yes again. If you have a website, assume you need a cookie notice. Even if all you’re doing is using cookies to manage the performance of your website, a cookie notice is required. This does not need to cost money. You can get free software from the major privacy software providers. They have simple step by step set up guides. There is really no excuse not to have a cookie notice. 

7.     What about accountability?

Yes, but make it proportionate. In a nutshell, accountability means ‘evidencing your activities’. Keep a record of what you do, why you’re doing it and your decision-making. It also means making sure you have appropriate technical and organisational measures in place to protect personal data. Have staff been adequately trained in data protection? Do we have clear guidelines and/or policies to help them? 

8.     What about Individual Rights? 

Yes. Every individual has clear rights and irrespective of the size of the organisation you need to fulfil these requests. 

These rights include right of access, the right to rectification, the right to erasure, the right to restrict processing, the right to data portability, the right to object and the right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing.

Not all of these might apply to a small business but it’s important to decide how to recognise and respond to these requests from individuals. 

9.    Don’t forget information security

Yes. Cyber Essentials was designed for SMEs. Arguably it’s the absolute minimum for any business. It does cost money but not a lot. Gaining the Cyber Essentials certification (if self-certified) costs £300. The five technical controls are: 

  • Boundary firewalls and internet gateways
  • Secure configuration.
  • Access control.
  • Malware protection.
  • Patch management.

10.  What about International Data Transfers? 

Hopefully no! If you and your suppliers are only operating in UK and Europe stop reading now. However, if any data is exported to a third country (such as USA, South Africa or India), there’s no escaping the fact that international data transfers can be painful to work through. 

When EU-US Privacy Shield was invalidated in 2020 this caused significant problems for data transfers between US and EU/UK. At the time, Max Schrems’ advice was to only work with companies based in UK or Europe who are not exporting data to third countries. However, this isn’t always possible – just consider how many people use Google, Microsoft or Mailchimp. 

Many, if not most, businesses will have dealings with these three and the reality is that you must accept they’re not going to change anything for you, or choose not to use them. 

Conclusion

Many small and start-up businesses can get ready relatively quickly. The trick for small business data protection is to review your arrangements on a regular basis and be aware if any more complicated processing emerges. For instance, anything involving automated processing, special category data, AI or children’s data carries significant risk and should be treated with care. 

There’s more helpful information available on the ICO’s Small Business Hub.

Data Protection Basics: The 7 data protection principles

November 2022

Understanding the key principles of data protection

Let’s get back to basics. There are seven core principles which form the foundation of data protection law. Understanding and applying these principles is the cornerstone for good practice and key to complying with UK / EU GDPR.

Here’s our quick guide to the data protection principles.

1. Lawfulness, fairness and transparency

This principle covers 3 key areas.

a) Lawfulness – We must identify an appropriate ‘lawful basis’ for collecting and using personal data. In fact, we need to decide on a lawful basis for each task we use personal data for, and make sure we fulfil the specific conditions for that lawful basis. There are 6 lawful bases to choose from.

We need to take special care and look to meet additional requirements when using what’s termed ‘special category’ data or data which relates to minors or vulnerable people.

We should also be sure not do anything which is likely to contravene any other laws.

b) Fairness – We must only use people’s data only in ways that are fair. Don’t process data in a way which might be unexpected, discriminatory or misleading. This means evaluating any adverse affects on individuals.

c) Transparency – We must be clear, open and honest with people about how we use their personal information. Tell people what we’re going to do with their personal information. Routinely this is achieved by providing relevant privacy information at the point data is collected, and by publishing a complete and up to date privacy notice and making this easy to find. Transparency requirements apply right from the start, when we collect or receive people’s data.

2. Purpose limitation

This is all about only using personal details in the ways we told people they’d be used for. We must be clear about what our purposes for processing are and specify them in the privacy information we provide to individuals.

Sometimes we might want to use personal data for a new purpose. We may have a clear legal obligation to do it, but if not we should check the new purpose is compatible with the original purpose(s) we had for that data. If not, then we may need to secure the individual’s consent before going ahead.

Remember, if we surprise people, they ‘ll be more likely to complain.

3. Data minimisation

We must make sure the personal data we collect and use is:

  • Adequate – necessary for our stated purposes. Only collect the data we really need. Don’t collect and keep certain personal information ‘just in case’ it might be useful in future.
  • Relevant – relevant to that purpose; and
  • Limited to what is necessary – don’t use more data than we need for each specific purpose.

4. Accuracy

We should take ‘all reasonable steps’ to make sure the personal data we gather and hold is accurate, up-to-date and not misleading.

It’s good practice to use data validation tools when data is captured or re-used. For example, validate email addresses are in the right format, or verify postal addresses when these are captured online.

If we identify any of the personal information we hold is incorrect or misleading, we should take steps to correct or delete it promptly.

Data accuracy can decline over time. For example, people change their email address, move house, get married or divorced, their needs and interests change. And of course some people on your database may pass away. So we need to consider ways to keep our data updated and cleansed.

Perhaps find ways to give people the opportunity to check and update their personal details?

5. Storage limitation

Don’t be a hoarder! We must not keep personal data longer than necessary for the purposes we have specified.

Certain records need to be kept for a statutory length of time, such as employment data. But not all data processing has a statutory period. Where the retention period is not set by law, the organisation must set an appropriate data retention period for each purpose, which it can justify.

The ICO would expect us to have a data retention policy in place, with a schedule which states the standard retention period for each processing task. This is key step to making sure you can comply with this principle.

When the data is no longer necessary, we must destroy or anonymise it, unless there’s a compelling reason for us to keep it for longer. For example, when legal hold applies. For more information see our Data Retention Guidance.

6. Security

This is the ‘integrity and confidentiality’ principle of the GDPR – often known as the security principle. This requires organisations to make sure we have appropriate security measures in place to protect the personal data we hold.

UK / EU GDPR talks about ‘appropriate technical and organisational measures’ (known as TOMs). These includes things like physical and technical security measures, conducting information security risk analyses, having information security policies & standards in place to guide our staff.

Our approach to security should be proportionate to the risks involves. The ICO advises us to consider available technology and the costs of implementation when deciding what measures to take.

Some of the basics include transferring data securely, storing it securely, restricting access to only those who need it and authenticating approved data users.

Cyber Essentials or Cyber Plus can be helpful as an assurance framework to carry out a review of your data security arrangements.

Controllers should consider information security standards when appointing and managing relationships with processors, i.e. service providers handling personal data on your behalf to provide their services. Are your processors securely handling their processing of the data you control? Carry out appropriate due diligence to make sure.

7. Accountability

The accountability principle makes organisations responsible for complying with the UK / EU GDPR and says they must be able to evidence how they comply with the above principles.

This requires data governance across the organisation. Think of accountability as a collective responsibility, flowing from the Executive team and down through to the teams that process personal data.

To demonstrate how we comply, we need to have records in place. For many organisations this will include a Record of Processing Activities (RoPA).

The ICO provides a useful ‘Accountability Framework’ we can use to benchmark performance against their expectations.

In summary, identify the lawful bases you’re relying on and be fair and be open about what you do. Minimise the data you collect and make sure it remains accurate over time. Always keep it secure and don’t keep it for longer than you need it. Take care if you want to use personal data for a new purpose. Keep records and be ready to justify your approach.  The ICO has published more detailed guidance on the seven principles.

Data Retention Guide

Data retention tools, tips and templates

This comprehensive guides take you through the key steps and considerations when approaching data retention. Whether you’re starting out or reviewing your retention policy and schedules, we hope this guide will support your work.

This guide was developed and written by data protection specialists from a broad range of sectors.  A huge thank you to all those who made it possible.

Privacy Management Programme – what does one look like?

October 2021

The concept is nothing new, but the term Privacy Management Programme (PMP) has been flung into the spotlight by the UK Government’s plans to reform data laws.

In a nutshell, the Government plans to revise the current accountability framework, replacing existing obligations (some of which are mandatory) with a requirement to implement a PMP.

It’s argued the current legislative framework ‘may be generating a significant and disproportionate administrative burden’ because it sets out detailed requirements organisations need to satisfy in order to demonstrate compliance.

The idea is a new ‘risked-based accountability framework’ will be introduced, requiring organisations to implement a PMP, but allow flexibility to internally tailor the programme to suit the organisation’s specific processing activities.

What is a Privacy Management Programme?

A PMP is a structured framework which supports organisations to meet their legal compliance obligations, the expectations of customers and clients, fulfil privacy rights, mitigate the risks of a data breach – and so forth.

Such a programme should recognise the value in taking an all-encompassing, holistic approach to data protection and privacy; embedding data protection principles and the concept of privacy by design and default.

Core components of a Privacy Management Programme

There are a number of PMP approaches and frameworks in existence. The UK Government has not yet elaborated on what they would expect a PMP to look like.

This top-level summary is broadly based on the IAPP’s Privacy Programme Management approach.

  • Governance

Organisations should develop and implement a suitable framework of management practices which make sure data is used properly and in line with organisational aims, laws and best practice. This should include adopting a privacy by design and by default approach; ensuring appropriate measures are in place to prevent unnecessary risks.

  • Assessments

Achieving clear oversight of the data held and processed, including any suppliers used to support business activities. Developing risk assessment tools which help to identify privacy risks and manage them effectively (e.g. Privacy Impact Assessments / Data Protection Impact Assessments).

  • Record-keeping

Mapping and maintaining an inventory of where personal data is, its purpose, how it is used and who it’s shared with.

  • Policies

Developing and implementing clear policies and procedures to guide staff and give them clear instructions about how personal data should be collected, used, stored, shared, protected and so on.

  • Training and awareness

Making sure adequate and appropriate training is conducted to give staff the knowledge and understanding they need to protect and handle data lawfully and in line with organisational expectations in their day-to-day roles. Making sure people are aware of how their organisation expects them to behave.

  • Privacy rights

Putting in place appropriate procedures to effectively and efficiently fulfil individual privacy rights requests, such as the right of access, erasure or objection.

  • Protecting personal information

Crucial to any PMP is protecting personal information. Working in conjunction with information security, a data protection by design approach would be expected – a proactive rather than reactive approach.

  • Data incident planning

Creating and developing data incident procedures and plans. Having appropriate methods to assess risk and potential impact, as well as understanding breach notification requirements.

  • Monitoring and auditing

Last, but by no means least no PMP would be complete without a methodology for tracking and benchmarking the programme’s performance.

What might change?

To many who’ve endeavoured to comply with the GDPR, all of the above will sound very familiar.

So, the Government isn’t proposing we do away with all the hard work already done. It’s planning a relaxation to some of the mandatory requirements; giving organisations more flexibility and control over how they implement certain elements of their programme.

On the one hand, this could be seen as a welcome move away from a ‘one-size fits all’ approach under UK GDPR, giving organisations more flexibility around how implement their privacy programmes to achieve desired outcomes.

On the other hand, there are fears the removal of mandatory requirements will lead to a watering down of the fundamental principle of accountability (a principle significantly bolstered under GDPR).

British Airways data breach – what can we learn?

October 2020

We’ve finally heard the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has fined British Airways £20 million for failing to protect personal and credit card data in their 2018 data breach. A breach which affected more than 400,000 BA customers and staff.

A final decision on this has been expected for some time, we just didn’t know what the figure would be until now. The amount is a fraction of the £183 million initially announced in the ICO’s notice of intention to fine. After considering BA’s representations and factoring in the economic impacts of COVID-19 it has been significantly reduced. But it’s still an eye-watering sum, in fact, the largest fine issued by the ICO.

What are the key lessons other businesses can learn from BA’s painful experience?

Information security must be taken seriously at Board level

Modern businesses rely on data more and more to provide quality services for customers and to create competitive advantage.  However, the risks to personal data are numerous, varied and ever-changing. A data breach can massively harm a business’s reputation with its customers, staff and with the world at large.

It’s often said that with power comes responsibility, so businesses need to recognise their roles as guardian and protector of the personal data of their customers and employees. We have to deliver on the promises we make, for example, in our privacy notices. Any steps your business can take to properly protect personal data and demonstrate to staff and the public how seriously you take data protection will help protect them from harm and also may help you to stand out from competitors in these tough times.

Boards need to show leadership by insisting on a strong and vigilant information security regime. I guess that means they need to be prepared to fund it too! It also means asking tough questions about the levels of data protection in place across the organisation.

Rachel Aldighieri, MD of the Data & Marketing Association (DMA), believes this is a wake up call;

“Brexit and coronavirus have put businesses under immense financial strain. A fine of this magnitude will certainly get the attention of Board members of organisations across the UK. They will certainly not want to risk receiving similar disciplinary action from the ICO. This is the largest fine issued by the ICO to date under the new GDPR laws, highlighting the importance all businesses should place on the security of customers’ data and the need to build in safeguards to protect it.

“Data is a fundamental part of the digital economy, so maintaining its security must be a business imperative. Trust in how brands collect, store and use data is essential to the relationship between businesses and their customers. This message should resonate with businesses now more than ever.”

Security measures must not only be ‘adequate’ but also checked and verified

The ICO said there were numerous measures BA could have used to mitigate or prevent the risk of an attacker accessing their network.

Martin Turner, Managing Director at cybersecurity specialists Full Frame Technology, believes BA missed the basics:

“As with so many serious data breaches, this one was caused by a failure to adopt the most basic security measures, including limiting access to applications, rigorous cybersecurity testing, and protecting accounts with multi-factor authentication.

Login credentials for a domain administrator account were stored in plain text. Software code wasn’t reviewed effectively. These are issues that a cybersecurity audit should have revealed, and BA has yet to explain why this didn’t happen.”

The ICO has (finally) shown us it has teeth!

Could this be a turning point? It’s been a long time coming and many expected it to happen much sooner. The ICO have finally issued a BIG fine more in keeping with the expectations most of us had when GDPR came into force.

Nevertheless, you might feel the ICO has shown a measure of pragmatism, reducing the fine down so much from the original £183m. But it’s not great timing for any business to suffer a body blow like this.

It will be interesting to see what figure the ICO finally decide to fine Marriott International for their Starwood data breach, which first came to our attention around the same time as BA. The ICO’s original ‘intention to fine’ for Marriott was £99 million.

Should we think again about data breach insurance?

You might be thinking afresh about breach insurance. We’d suggest you shop around and pay attention to the fine print, as data breach insurance policies can vary more than you might imagine.

Don’t just look at the price as no two policies are the same and there is little consistency in the way policies are worded. The levels of cover and features on offer can vary significantly. Keep an eye out for exclusions!

One key differentiator you may wish to delve into is the level of support your insurer will provide in the event of a breach or a cyber attack. Do they have a team of specialists in place who will advise and help you to triage a live situation? This is one area where you might get just what you pay for.

This fine was long anticipated and the pandemic has definitely played its part in reducing the final amount. The travel sector has been badly impacted by COVID and £20 million will hit BA hard. BA may decide to appeal against it. It goes to show how important it is to have robust data protection and security measures in place.