Information Commissioner's Office’s Post

NEW: Online surveys, postal vote applications and social media adverts – what you should expect from political parties using personal data during the election period. A general election is set to take place this July and we know many people have questions about how their data may be used during the election period. Personal information is an important part of campaigning and allows political parties to get crucial messages to voters to help them understand the key issues for different people. We understand how important it is for the public to trust in how their personal information is used during elections. And so, we have been working with fellow regulators, with organisations and people who will be handling your personal information during the upcoming election campaign to ensure expectations around compliance with the law are clear. To help we’ve set out some of the common questions people have around data use and elections and what you can expect if: 👉 Political parties use online petitions. 👉 You’re targeted with social media advertising. 👉 You’re sent a letter from a party you’ve not signed up to. 👉 You raise a concern. Read more about what you should expect in our blog: https://lnkd.in/dW7ea3Sp

Questions about SARs? We’ve got the answers. Looking for information on: ❔ Extending deadlines to responses? 👉 Our extension guide: https://lnkd.in/eeQE9b36 👉 Our Accountability Framework https://lnkd.in/eX3JrpcW ❔ Excessive and unfounded requests? 👉 Manifestly unfounded request guide: https://lnkd.in/eTjfm9js 👉 Definition of manifestly unfounded https://lnkd.in/eMuQVksM 👉 Clarification guide https://lnkd.in/ecNJhBG7 👉 Guidance for employers: https://lnkd.in/e3ykM_P7 ❔ any special considerations for the education sector? 👉 SARs and education data https://lnkd.in/e4wxik-V 👉 public advice on accessing pupil’s information: https://lnkd.in/eDzn3qyD 👉 audit reports of SAR handling in education: https://lnkd.in/eMv7VXEN

We’ve found #DPPC24’s answer to Love Island’s Maya Jama, Richard and Judy’s Richard Madeley, Match of the Day’s Gary Lineker and The Traitors’ Claudia Winkleman. DPPC24 will cover a range of themes such as: Freedom of information Cyber security Artificial intelligence And more! The award winning DPPC has space for everyone, no matter what sector you work in. Andrew is ready to be there, are you? Get your FREE ticket now 👉 https://lnkd.in/eAAgF5aq

They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but these data #DogsAtPollingStations have picked up some top tips over the years. See what they have to say about direct marketing and data protection, what to expect around showing voter ID and how your data may be used in elections. 👉 ico.org.uk/elections

If you work in the public sector and need to provide basic training on the Freedom of Information process, then we have you covered. Use our training videos to help improve your organisation’s FOI practice: https://lnkd.in/eK5QuuJ2

It might not be possible to prevent every personal data breach, but you can reduce the risk significantly. Here are a few steps you can take: 👉 Store personal information securely. 👉 Review and monitor your access controls. 👉 Make sure staff are frequently trained. 👉 Back up your systems. 👉 Have a remote working policy if you have staff working off-site. 👉 Name your documents clearly and consistently. These are only half of the steps you can take, read the full guidance on our website: https://lnkd.in/eXcB44QA

🪛 Let’s time travel to 2030 and join Surinder who is camping at a festival. He sees a drone hovering over the camping area… but whose drone is it? And what data is it capturing? Read our Tech Horizons report that explores the data protection implications of using commercial drones: https://lnkd.in/ePPMGugd

NEW: Our statement regarding our public sector approach trial 👇 “In June 2022 we revised our approach to working with public sector organisations and started a two-year trial, as set out in our open letter at the time. While we have continued to issue fines to public bodies where appropriate, we have also been using our other regulatory tools to ensure people’s information is handled appropriately and money isn't diverted away from where it's needed the most. We will now review the two-year trial before making a decision on the public sector approach in the autumn. In the meantime, we will continue to apply this approach to our regulatory activities in relation to public sector organisations.” View the statement on our website: https://lnkd.in/eDaW6-Bc

We’re seeing an increasing rate of cyber breaches – and password-based attacks spiked in 2023. How do password-based attacks happen? Cyber criminals will use trial and error to guess your username and password combination, this is known as a brute force attack. Success rates of these attacks increases when passwords are simple and easy to guess. The simplest form of brute force attacks will guess your password based on research. For example, children’s names, pet’s name and birthdays. The need to try different variations means that this type of attack is normally automated, relying on software tools. You can reduce the risk of these attacks by: • Changing all default usernames and passwords. • Creating a strong password consisting of three random words. • Using multi-factor authentication. • Having unique passwords on all accounts. • Limiting logon attempts and set accounts to lock if too many wrong guesses are made of a password. Read our report for more tips on preventing brute force attacks and learn from the mistakes of others 👉 https://lnkd.in/e7MNNd23