ICO 'looking to send out clear message to firms'

2010-01-21

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) in the UK is looking to send out a clear message to businesses with its new powers, it has been suggested.

Simon Heron, internet security analyst at international managed security services company Network Box, said that the decision to allow the ICO to order organisations to pay up to £500,000 as a penalty for serious breaches of the Data Protection Act, was "a necessary step".

"There does need to be some extra stick involved to make companies focus more carefully on information they store on people," Mr Heron asserted.

He indicated that previous powers were perhaps not enough, as organisations may have been willing to take the hit, which could have cost less than protecting the data.

The ICO's new powers are expected to come into force on April 6th 2010 and are designed to deter personal data breach incidents, the independent regulatory office recently announced.

Network Box: New ICO powers a "necessary step" to increase businesses focus on data protection

Read more security news.