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- Privacy topics
Umeå University – €54,000 Fine (Sweden, 2020)
Privacy enforcement record
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Umeå University was fined for not properly protecting sensitive data in a research project. They stored police reports in a U.S. cloud service without adequate security measures. This case highlights the importance of data protection for sensitive information.
What happened
Umeå University failed to apply proper security measures for sensitive data stored in a U.S. cloud service.
Who was affected
Individuals whose police reports contained personal information, including names and health details.
What the authority found
The Swedish data protection authority found that Umeå University did not take appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect personal data.
Why this matters
This ruling emphasizes that universities and other organizations must ensure strong data protection, especially for sensitive information. It serves as a warning for all companies to review their data security practices.
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The Swedish DPA (Integritetsskyddsmyndigheten) fined Umeå University SEK 550,000 (EUR 54,000) as a result of its failure to apply appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect data. As part of a research project on male rape, the university had stored several police reports on such related incidents in the cloud of a U.S. service provider. The reports contained the names, ID numbers and contact details of the data subjects, as well as information about their health and sex lives, alongside information about the suspected crime. The DPA notes that the storage in that cloud does not adequately protect such particularly sensitive data. In addition, one of the investigation reports was sent unencrypted to the Swedish police via email. However, the controller had neither documented the incident nor reported it to the DPA.
Related Enforcement Actions (1)
Other enforcement actions involving Umeå University in SE
Details
Fine Date
11 December 2020
Authority
Integritetsskyddsmyndigheten
Fine Amount
€54,000
About this data
Cite as: Cookie Fines. Umeå University - Sweden (2020). Retrieved from cookiefines.eu
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