Document Management News

The Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) union has been found in breach of the Data Protection Act, after a staff member lost a laptop and memory stick containing the personal details of thousands of union members.

The breach was reported to the Information Commissioner's Officer (ICO), which has ordered the union to take action to prevent similar breaches.

The laptop in question was the property of the ATL and contained the personal details of 6,282 union members. It was not encrypted but was password protected. The memory stick, which was not password protected or encrypted, belonged to a staff member and contained 3,366 of the same records on the laptop.

Both devices, which included "some sensitive personal data", were either lost or stolen from the roadside as the ATL staff member was packing his car.

The union has promised the ICO that all portable and mobile devices used to store and transmit personal details will now be encrypted. The undertaking given to the ICO also requires a review of the policy covering the transfer and storage of personal data. Staff will need to be made aware of this policy and prohibited from storing personal information on their own memory sticks.

Sally Anne-Poole, head of enforcement at the ICO, said, “I encourage organisations to prevent staff from downloading large amounts of personal data. It is vital that portable devices, including laptops and memory sticks are encrypted if they are used to store personal information.

"Staff members should not be allowed to keep people’s personal details, especially sensitive personal information, on their own memory sticks."