07 Jun 2010

Data breaches reported to ICO increasing

The number of data breaches being reported to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) continues to increase, it has been revealed.

ICO figures showed that more than 1,000 reports of data loss were reported in the last year, with more than 50 per cent via lost or stolen hardware.

Kevin Bocek, director of product marketing at IronKey, said businesses should look to ensure their information is protected at all times, as this could help them to avoid fines from the ICO, as well as impact upon their reputation should they lose confidential customer records.

He commented: "Taking simple steps to use always-on encryption for removable storage, like USB flash drive, that can be managed and audited would have made many, many data breaches non-issues."

According to the ICO, a top tip for firms is to beware the dangers of unsolicited email and to put in place firewalls to block malicious content that could otherwise harm IT infrastructure.