On July 3, 2009, the German Federal Parliament passed comprehensive amendments to the Federal Data Protection Act (the “Federal Act”). These amendments also passed the Federal Council on July 10, 2009, and the revised law will enter into force on September 1, 2009. The new amendments cover a range of data protection-related issues, including marketing,…
Category: Breaches
MoD admits to fourfold rise in data breaches
The government’s information security reputation suffered another blow this week, after the Ministry of Defence (MoD) revealed that serious data breaches have risen fourfold over the past year. The MoD’s latest resource accounts (PDF) reveal that the department suffered eight serious breaches in the 2008 to 2009 period, up from just two in the preceding…
Mid Sussex District Council breached worker’s privacy
When Roger Mills’s council employer thought he was skiving, he hired private detectives to spy on him. After four months of surveillance, he was sacked for gross misconduct after spending time at home during work hours. There was just one problem. Mr Mills had a long-standing arrangement allowing him to work from home. Yesterday he…
Council admits snooping through rubbish
“Disgraceful” council staff have been snooping through residents’ rubbish to monitor their recycling habits, it has been revealed. Residents across Rother, including Battle, have had their refuse rifled through by East Sussex County Council, without their knowledge or consent. And council staff have also been accused of using their findings to rate households across the…