Data protection and the ripple effect – The ICO wants you to act
07/04/2025
The ICO is calling on all organisations to reconsider how they communicate with people after a data breach, to put empathy at the heart of their reaction, commit to making sure it doesn't happen again, and empower and inform the people impacted.
To you, it may be a mistake, an email mix-up, or a case of clicking CC instead of BCC. But for them, it could mean life changing consequences.
THE ICO SAYS:-
- Data protection has never been about computers or robots – it's about people.
- The information you are trusted with reflects individual lives. To some organisations, a data breach might seem like a temporary setback - something that can be patched up with technical fixes and compliance reviews.
- But from the perspective of individuals - especially those in vulnerable situations - a breach can have a far-reaching ripple effect that disrupts their lives in ways that some may not fully appreciate.
- As an organisation, you have a role to stop this ripple effect in someone’s life from spreading further.
- It is vitally important to acknowledge what has happened, be human in your response and commit to making sure it doesn’t happen again.
- At the ICO, we are committed to protecting individuals, particularly those who are most vulnerable to harm from data breaches. However, this cannot be done alone.
- We need organisations to step up, to do better, and to recognise the critical importance of data protection in safeguarding people’s lives.
- In the event of a data breach, we’re asking you and your frontline colleagues to:
- Promptly assess the risks to the individuals involved, including your reporting and notification duties.
- Acknowledge what has happened to the person affected by a breach.
- Be human and accessible in your response and commit to ensuring it doesn’t happen again.
- Share our simple guidance with people affected by a breach.
- Share our toolkit of resources with your staff to help change the culture and ensure that empathy is at the heart of your response.
Resources
- Ripple Effect resources https://ico.org.uk/media2/migrated/4031561/ico-ripple-effect-assets.zip
- The ICO have resources and support to help you: https://ico.org.uk/ripple
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As well as owning and publishing Comsure's copyrighted works, Comsure wishes to use the copyright-protected works of others. To do so, Comsure is applying for exemptions in the UK copyright law. There are certain very specific situations where Comsure is permitted to do so without seeking permission from the owner. These exemptions are in the copyright sections of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (as amended)[www.gov.UK/government/publications/copyright-acts-and-related-laws]. Many situations allow for Comsure to apply for exemptions. These include 1] Non-commercial research and private study, 2] Criticism, review and reporting of current events, 3] the copying of works in any medium as long as the use is to illustrate a point. 4] no posting is for commercial purposes [payment]. (for a full list of exemptions, please read here www.gov.uk/guidance/exceptions-to-copyright]. Concerning the exceptions, Comsure will acknowledge the work of the source author by providing a link to the source material. Comsure claims no ownership of non-Comsure content. The non-Comsure articles posted on the Comsure website are deemed important, relevant, and newsworthy to a Comsure audience (e.g. regulated financial services and professional firms [DNFSBs]). Comsure does not wish to take any credit for the publication, and the publication can be read in full in its original form if you click the articles link that always accompanies the news item. Also, Comsure does not seek any payment for highlighting these important articles. If you want any article removed, Comsure will automatically do so on a reasonable request if you email info@comsuregroup.com.