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The Information Commissioner�s Office revealed recently that it was looking into 30 serious cases of data loss and breaches of contract. Incidents of data loss seem to be on the rise and can land a lot of people in trouble with severe consequences. It was made known that many companies handle the personal information of their clients carelessly and this is what is leading to incidence of data loss.

Speaking at a conference, Richard Thomas, the Information Commissioner stated that the Chief Executive Officer of every company must take more responsibility to safeguard the confidential information of each client. There have been many cases in the past year of lost laptops, memory sticks and other devices that have held vital data, which fall into the breach of contract category. A stop should be put to these incidents as they can cause great inconvenience for people.

There are ways to avoid such incidents by creating an online backup for this type of information. These data backups are excellent disaster recovery solutions as they can help retrieve data at any time or place within minutes, should the data get lost or destroyed. It is important for companies to create online data backups and encrypt information as it can be helpful in the long run.

A recent review conducted by Mark Walport, the director of the Wellcome Trust, and the Information Commissioner, Richard Thomas, has come up with certain pertinent suggestions regarding current personal data protection policies.

One of the main recommendations is tougher and further reaching powers for the Office of Information Commissioner to enforce relevant rules apart from more proactive leadership and greater accountability on data protection, and more protection of information online and, specifically, in the electoral register.

Walport noted in a statement:

The case for change is indeed overwhelming. The law and its framework lack clarity. The technology enabling the collection as well as sharing of large amount of personal data continues to advance. However, public confidence in how personal data is safeguarded is evaporating.

The package of recommendations is largely aimed at transforming the manner in which personal data is collected, managed, stored, used and shared. RIchard Thomas mentioned:

The risks in the new information age are very real, particularly if organisations are cavalier about sharing. The regulatory system that governs data sharing must have much more bite, and reform is now long overdue.

The ICO (Information Commissioner�s Office), the UK’s independent public body, has been set up for promoting access to official information and also protect personal information through standard practice.