The UK Information Commissioner’s
Office (ICO) has found 11 banks and other financial institutions in breach of
the Data Protection Act after investigating complaints concerning the disposal
of customer information.
- HBOS
- Alliance & Leicester
- Royal Bank of Scotland
- Scarborough Building Society
- Clydesdale Bank
- Natwest
- United National Bank
- Barclays Bank
- Co-operative Bank
- HFC Bank
- Nationwide Building Society
- Post Office
were all found to have discarded
personal information in waste bins /receptacles outside their premises.
The Immigration Advisory Service was
also found to have disposed of personal information in similar circumstances.
The ICO has now required these
organisations to sign a formal undertaking to comply with the Principles of the
Data Protection Act. Failure to meet the conditions of the undertaking is
likely to lead to further enforcement action by the ICO and could result in prosecution by the Office.
David Smith, Deputy Commissioner,
said: “It is unacceptable for banks and other organisations to carelessly
discard their customers’ information. It is vital that banks and other
organisations take security seriously. If they do not, they not only risk
further
action from the Information Commissioner but also risk losing the trust of their customers. Individuals must feel confident that banks and other organisations are safeguarding their personal information.”
The ICO believes that organisations
in breach of the Data Protection Act security requirements should face a
detailed inspection of their security procedures.
No comments:
Post a Comment