The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has found Warwickshire County Council in breach of the Data Protection Act (DPA) following the theft of two laptops and the loss of a memory stick.
The laptops, which were unencrypted and not physically secured or locked away, were stolen from council offices. They held sensitive personal information relating to a number of pupils and members of staff from two schools. The council also reported a separate incident to the ICO, involving the disappearance of an unencrypted memory stick holding a small amount of personal data relating to children attending an education centre.
Sally-anne Poole, Head of Enforcement & Investigations at the ICO, said: “It is essential that organisations ensure the correct safeguards are in place when storing and transferring personal information, especially when
it concerns sensitive information relating to children. A lack of awareness of data protection requirements can lead to personal information falling into the wrong hands.
