Information
CommissionerRichard Thomas today welcomed the
prime minister's announcement that the Information Commissioner's
Office would in future have the right to run spot checks on
government departments to check compliance with the Data Protection
Act.
Thomas also called on the government to make it a criminal
offence for massive data breaches, such as the recent
loss of personal details of 25 million people on the HM Revenue
& Customs child benefits system.
Thomas said, "We will work with the Ministry of Justice to
confirm the detail of this announcement. It is essential that we
are properly resourced to carry out this new function.
"It is also important that the law is changed to make security
breaches of this magnitude a criminal offence. At the moment I can
take limited enforcement action, but making this a criminal offence
would serve as a strong deterrent and would send a very strong
signal that it is completely unacceptable to be cavalier with
people's personal information."
Thomas and Mark Walport, director of the Wellcome Trust, are to
review the UK's framework to ensure the security of personal data.
This review will look at government departments and other
organisations.