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ICO Referendum response plus UK Gov recommendations to #DataBreaches and University gets suffers Second #DataBreach


ICO Referendum result response

An ICO spokesperson said:

“The Data Protection Act remains the law of the land irrespective of the referendum result.

“If the UK is not part of the EU, then upcoming EU reforms to data protection law would not directly apply to the UK. But if the UK wants to trade with the Single Market on equal terms we would have to prove 'adequacy' - in other words UK data protection standards would have to be equivalent to the EU's General Data Protection Regulation framework starting in 2018.

“With so many businesses and services operating across borders, international consistency around data protection laws and rights is crucial both to businesses and organisations and to consumers and citizens. The ICO’s role has always involved working closely with regulators in other countries, and that would continue to be the case.

“Having clear laws with safeguards in place is more important than ever given the growing digital economy, and we will be speaking to government to present our view that reform of the UK law remains necessary.”

Cited at the ICO

If you trade with EU countries then the GDPR remains very relevant to you



The Department of Culture, Media and Sport have given a few recommendations on data breaches, following the TalkTalk hack in October 2015:



  • Companies should be fined if they fail to guard against cyber attacks, MPs have recommended in the wake of last year's TalkTalk hack.
  • CEOs' pay should be linked to effective cyber security 
  • It should be easier for consumers to get compensation if they are the victim of a hack 
  • The Government should conduct a public awareness campaign about online and telephone scams or phishing.  
  • Companies should also be fined for delays in reporting breaches into their systems.


Committee chair Jesse Norman told Sky News: "Our report today I think is a giant wake up call for industry generally because what that showed (the TalkTalk hack) is that even very sophisticated companies in the telecoms area were not invulnerable to attacks."

Cited BetaNews

Greenwich University suffers second data breach this year in apparent ‘revenge hack’ by former student 

The University of Greenwich has suffered its second data breach this year after a reportedly displeased former student leaked confidential details online.

According to the Evening Standard, the hacker managed to get access to the university’s website, stole personal and confidential data, and uploaded details allowing Internet users to access the information via a link.

Details included student contact information, their names, grades and feedback, staff holiday details, conversations between students and staff, and even a “sickness table” which highlighted students with disabilities.

Cited at The Independent 

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