At the launch of his annual report, Mr Thomas said that the security breaches were careless and inexcusable and described the security lapses as horrifying.
Mr Thomas added: Business and public sector leaders must take their data protection obligations more seriously. The majority of organizations process personal information appropriately but privacy must be given more priority in every UK boardroom. Organizations that fail to process personal information in line with the principles of the Data Protection Act not only risk enforcement action by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), they also risk losing the trust of their customers.
According to the watchdog, the public’s awareness of data protection rights has reached an all-time high of 82%. To ensure the privacy level of personal information remains high, the information commissioner has called for stronger audit and inspection powers from his office. Currently, the ICO can only audit organizations’ information handling practices with their consent. The commissioner wants the right to inspect and audit practices where poor practice is suspected.
The privacy watchdog also revealed that the ICO received almost 24,000 enquiries and complaints in relation to personal information in 2006/7. In the last 12 months, the ICO has prosecuted 16 individuals and organizations.
