DFK UK & Ireland

Launch of BS10012

Whilst the headlines have been swamped with MP’s expense scandals, research from the BSI has revealed that almost one in five businesses has unwittingly breached the Data Protection Act (DPA) at least once. Of these, nearly half said they had breached the Act on several occasions and an additional 18% said they were not sure whether they had or not. A ‘breach’ refers to the possible illegal transfer of information to a third party, failure to hold information securely or neglect of other legal obligations.

The findings provide insight on how UK businesses manage the personal information they hold on staff and customers, including sensitive data such as financial details, racial or ethnic origin, trade union membership and criminal proceedings. The survey was carried out to mark the publication of a new British Standard (BS10012) on data protection which will help organisations put in place a framework for maintaining and improving compliance with data protection legislation (DPA) and good practice.

The new British Standard, BS10012 specifies requirements for a personal-information management system (PIMS) and is the first standard for the management of personal information in the UK. Rather than prescribing exactly how operations should be run, BS 10012 provides the framework which will enable effective management of personal information.

The new standard can be used by organisations of any size and sector to create a tailored management system which includes procedures in areas such as training and awareness, risk assessment, data sharing, retention and disposal of data and disclosure to third parties.

If you would like further information on the new standard or would like to speak to us about your data security needs then please do not hesitate to contact us.

Dr Stephen Hill
Head of Fraud & Forensics Group
Chantrey Vellacott DFK
shill@cvdfk.com
020 7509 9000

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