The incredibly serious Wokingham Council data breach that came to light in the last few weeks was a severe example of how bad a council data breach can be.
This particular breach was said to be an error that’s among a number that had been identified with Wokingham Council. Councils and local authority agencies hold a great deal of incredibly personal and sensitive data about thousands of individuals. This includes vulnerable people and children.
As such, any council data breach can be severe. This latest Wokingham Council breach is one of the worst we’ve seen.
About the most recent Wokingham Council data breach
The latest Wokingham Council data breach reportedly stemmed from confidential information about a child sexual assault victim being sent to her attacker.
The breach came after a prior litigation where the council paid more than £10,000.00 in legal fees to the victim’s mother in relation to inadequate investigations. The council reportedly closed a case on the offender despite the matter still being investigated by the police.
The breach is said to be an error that’s in a long line of a list of failures. The Local Government Ombudsman is likely going to find the council at fault.
Wokingham Council data breach broke a lifetime ban
The Wokingham Council breach reportedly broke a lifetime ban against the offender from ever having contact with his victim.
The attacker is said to be a convicted sex offender who had asked if there were restrictions on contact in September 2018. Wokingham Council then reportedly said there were no restrictions, and sent confidential details about the victim to him.
A shocking case
This really is a shocking case. As expert Data Leak Lawyers, we’re involved in serious data protection breaches that have had lasting and profound effects on the victims. Even though we can only scratch the surface when it comes to understanding how the victims feel, we’ve seen enough to know just how bad it can be.
This severe Wokingham Council breach should serve as a stark warning to local authorities about the need to protect the people whose data they hold. This should never have happened in the first place, but it must serve as a warning to make sure there are no repeats of such a situation ever again.