- Enforcing jurisdiction
- United Kingdom · Geography does not establish applicable law.
- Confirmed applicable legislation
- No confirmed legal basis recorded.
- Privacy topics
Cabinet Office – €585,000 Fine (United Kingdom, 2021)
Privacy enforcement record
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The UK Cabinet Office was fined for accidentally publishing personal information of over 1,000 individuals online. This breach exposed names and addresses for more than two hours, affecting people with public profiles. This incident highlights the importance of data security in government communications.
What happened
The Cabinet Office published a file containing names and uncensored addresses of more than 1,000 individuals online due to an IT error.
Who was affected
Over 1,000 individuals who received New Year's honors were affected by the data breach.
What the authority found
The Information Commissioner's Office found that the Cabinet Office failed to implement adequate security measures to protect personal data.
Why this matters
This ruling stresses the need for strong data protection practices in government departments. Organizations must prioritize data security to prevent similar breaches.
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The UK DPA (ICO) has fined the Cabinet Office EUR 585,000. On December 27, 2019, the Cabinet Office published a file on GOV.UK containing the names and uncensored addresses of more than 1,000 individuals who had received New Year's honors. Individuals from a wide range of professions across the United Kingdom were affected, including individuals with a high public profile. After learning of the data breach, the Cabinet Office removed the web link to the file. However, the file was still in the cache and was accessible online to people who had the exact website address. The disclosed personal data was available online for two hours and 21 minutes and had been accessed 3,872 times. The breach occurred due to an error in the setup of the Cabinet Office's new IT system. The ICO found that the Cabinet Office failed to take appropriate technical and organizational measures to ensure a level of protection appropriate with the risk to data subjects.
Related Enforcement Actions (1)
Other enforcement actions involving Cabinet Office in UK
Details
Fine Date
25 November 2021
Authority
Information Commissioner's Office
Fine Amount
€585,000
About this data
Cite as: Cookie Fines. Cabinet Office - United Kingdom (2021). Retrieved from cookiefines.eu
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