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Council rap over stolen laptop files
Watchdogs have slammed Wigan Council over lax security when a laptop containing the personal details of 33,000 local schoolchildren was stolen.
Finding the Metro guilty of breaching the Data Protection Act, the Information Commissioner said it was "unncessarily risky" to have stored the data on a portable computer and not encrypted it.
The information had been downloaded onto the laptop in contravention of council policy.
Today the authority pledged to tighten security to prevent further embarrassing security alerts.
A major investigation was launched after several laptops were stolen on Tuesday January 27 during the burglary of Progress House: the main offices of Wigan Council's Children and Young People's Services.
The computer at the centre of the probe was in a locked office, but the device itself was not secured inside a container and while a password was needed to get to the information, the details of virtually ever Wigan borough child in Year Three and above were not encrypted.
The information included names, dates of birth, postcodes, ethnicity and, where applicable, details of any special educational needs or eligibility for free school meals. There was also data on achievement in national curriculum assessments.
Families all over the borough were sent letters from the council seeking to reassure them following the theft and there has been no evidence since that the information on the still missing computer was ever accessed or abused.
The theft was reported by the council to both the police and the national Information Commissioner's Office who reported back today.
Its statement read: "Wigan Council has agreed to take action to comply with the Data Protection Act after the theft of a laptop computer containing personal information relating to approximately 43,000 children and young people.
"The laptop included personal details on most children and young people in Wigan's schools. The information had been downloaded on to the laptop in breach of council policy. Although the laptop was stored in a locked office, the data on the device was not protected as the laptop was not encrypted.
"The ICO found Wigan Council in breach of the Data Protection Act and Joyce Redfearn, Chief Executive at Wigan Council, has now signed an undertaking confirming that the organisation will take a number of steps to improve data security."
Sally-Anne Poole, Head of Enforcement at the ICO, said: "I strongly advise organisations to avoid instances where employees can download large volumes of personal information.
"This incident could have been averted if the data was simply accessed from the main council computer network.
"Storing large volumes of personal information on portable devices is unnecessarily risky. If personal details fall into the wrong hands, individuals can experience considerable distress.
"It is vital that personal information is handled securely, especially where so many children and young people are concerned. I am pleased that the council has taken action to guard against security breaches of this nature."
Wigan Council has agreed to ensure that portable and mobile devices, including laptops and other portable media used to store and transmit personal data, are encrypted.
Staff will be appropriately trained and made aware of the policy for the storage and use of personal data, and the council will ensure that staff adhere to the policy. The council will also implement other appropriate security measures to ensure that personal data is better protected.
Ms Redfearn said: "We take our responsibilities in holding data very seriously and conducted our own investigation. We can reassure the public that we have readily complied with the requests of the Information Commissioner's Office and have taken action to make sure this type of data loss does not happen again.
"Staff have been made aware of the new protocols surrounding information on laptops and people will receive extra training where required."
Ms Redfearn added: "We have also carried out a review of physical security in our buildings because we want residents of the borough to know that we treat any and all personal information we hold with the utmost care and confidentiality."
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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