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Private eye

23 November 2012 / Tom Morrison
Issue: 7539 / Categories: Features , Data protection
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Tom Morrison returns with his quarterly review of the world of information law

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has again made clear that it is not optional to encrypt personal data held on any portable storage device. Nevertheless, many businesses, charities and public sector organisations are either deliberately or unwittingly allowing the continued use of unencrypted devices. It would be a bit of a pun to say that encryption is key to data security, but it has for some time been clear that it is likely that you will be found to be in breach of principle seven of the Data Protection Act 1998 if you lose an unencrypted device containing personal data. Unfortunately, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) was reminded of that by finding itself on the wrong end of a £150,000 fine.

Based on the reported facts, it was a bit of a slam dunk for the ICO. A drugs squad detective took a memory stick home and kept it safe in his wallet. Sadly, his home was broken into and his wallet—along with

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Writing in NLJ this week, Thomas Rothwell and Kavish Shah of Falcon Chambers unpack the surprise inclusion of a ban on upwards-only rent reviews in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
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