A signed undertaking has come into force over a Humberside police data breach that involved incredibly sensitive notes for an alleged rape.
In October 2016, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) was informed about the loss of interview disks and written notes about an alleged rape. The disks were reportedly created after an interview had been conducted with another force, and the disks were not encrypted or even password-protected.
The loss of sensitive police data that wasn’t even encrypted and protected is inexcusable.
The Humberside police data breach incident
The Humberside police data breach incident in question here involved the loss of data about an alleged sexual offence, so we’re talking about a very sensitive matter. The data that was held in disk format was not encrypted or even password-protected, both of which are two of the most basic forms of security.
The police should know better, although this is not the first time that sensitive data about abuse offences has been lost by the police. This kind of data in the wrong hands could have serious ramifications for the victims, not forgetting the fact that this data should be private and confidential anyway.
Undertaking signed after Humberside police data breach
An undertaking has been signed in light of the Humberside police data breach that took place at the end of 2016. The ICO found that some police employees had out-of-date training for data protection, and some didn’t have proper training at all.
It also found that the process for the monitoring and completion of training was inadequate.
Because the ICO audits have highlighted a need for improvement, Humberside Police have now agreed to formal undertakings to change their ways and avoid a repeat of what was a preventable incident.
Can you claim for a police data breach?
You can claim for data breach compensation from an incident like the Humberside police data breach. Victims can be eligible to claim for data loss, especially where the data in question has not been secured properly, and is of an incredibly private and sensitive nature.
The best thing to do is to contact our team for help and guidance, and if we feel it’s something we can help you with, we can represent you on a No Win, No Fee basis for a police data breach incident.