Since the data loss incident where HM Revenue and Customs admitted to losing information about 25 million child benefit records, about 100 organisations have reported data breaches. Richard Thomas, the Information Commissioner revealed that data breaches were reported from three different sectors. Four were from charity and voluntary agencies, twenty eight from the private sector and 62 from the public sector.
While talking about the increasing number of data breaches, Thomas said that the figures were alarming and disappointing. He also said that these incidents were unacceptable and that banks, government and other organisations needed to be more careful while dealing with personal information about people. The reported data breaches included lost and stolen memory sticks, laptops and discs – all of which were unencrypted.
All through last year, the Information Commissioner kept requesting those handling vital information to use better information protection methods like online data backups and offsite data backups. These precautions ensure that all the data is encrypted and well protected so that no damage can take place should the information get lost or stolen. Online data backups are one of the best ways to ensure business continuity and can definitely assure customers and clients that their personal information is being kept safe and secure at all times.
