The Information Commissioner’s Office’s (ICO) latest statistics on data security incidents have revealed a 19% increase from Q2 to Q3 2017, with 815 incidents reported between October and December 2017. This is an astonishing 41% rise on the same period in 2016. The reasons are thought to be growing awareness of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the launch of the ICO’s personal data breach helpline.
Key findings:
- In the central government sector, there was a staggering 178% increase in reported incidents on Q2, up from 9 to 25.
- In the education sector, there was a 68% increase, from 57 reported incidents in Q2 to 96 in Q3. There was a spike in the number of incidents in which data was sent to the incorrect recipient.
- In the health sector, there was a 22% increase. The three main breach types were data posted or faxed to an incorrect recipient, data sent via email to an incorrect recipient and loss or theft of paperwork.
It is likely that the incidents in which data was sent to an incorrect recipient were preventable. Employees pose a significant threat to data security within organisations, not just maliciously but accidentally. To combat and prevent these occurrences, employees who handle sensitive data must have the correct knowledge and a good understanding of information security and best practices.
Better protect your information assets
Our Information Security Staff Awareness E-Learning Course can help your employees learn about the most important elements of information security. The course will teach them how to avoid becoming a security liability, introduce internal policies on incident reporting and responses, and provide basic knowledge of information security best practices to reduce preventable mistakes.
