by johnt
18. November 2010 15:00
The Information Commissioner’s Office has conducted a survey on the awareness of company’s obligations when processing personal data. The level of awareness has fallen dramatically since their last survey in 2007.
Companies were asked about their awareness of the eight core obligations faced by them when processing data. Less than half of the 401 private companies surveyed knew they had to keep personal information secure, down from 64 per cent in 2007.
The processing of information for limited purposes omly gained the second-highest level of awareness at just 12 per cent, down from 31 per cent four years ago.
Keeping data accurate and up-to-date was mentioned unprompted by only 11 per cent, compared to 40 per cent in 2007. The other obligations were recalled by 10 per cent or less of the sample.
Commenting on the findings, Information Commissioner Christopher Graham said: “A strong awareness of data protection obligations is of fundamental importance to any organisation. Businesses need to show they are taking data protection seriously. Failing to do so could not only lead to enforcement action, it could also do significant damage to their reputation.”
He added: “There is a link between satisfied customers and good handling of personal information. Our research shows that almost all of the individuals surveyed are concerned about the collection and secure storage of their personal information. Ignoring data protection obligations is ignoring a key customer concern.”
These companies are putting themselves at risk of receiving severe fines from the office of the Information Commissioner. Simply by using data8’s data cleansing services they will reduce most of these risks and ensure they have happy customers.