Missing USB drive, found in pub, contained unencrypted data

Two London housing groups have been forced to issue public undertakings to improve their security after a USB stick containing thousands of their tenants’ details was found in a pub.

The Information Commissioners Office (ICO) was alerted to the missing USB drive, which contained unencrypted data, after it was found by a member of the public and handed in to the police.

According to the ICO, the device belonged to a contractor who was employed by both the Wandle Housing Association and Lewisham Homes. The worker had copied details of over 25,000 Lewisham and Wandle tenants. Nearly 800 of the records belonging to Lewisham Homes also contained tenants’ bank account details.

Neither of the housing groups has been fined, but both Wandle and Lewisham have signed undertakings with the ICO to make specific improvements to the way they implement and enforce security policy.

In the case of Lewisham, Chief Executive Andrew Potter admitted the contractor had copied the data to his device due to problems encountered backing up work on the data controller’s network. He also admitted there had been no effective measures in place to prevent the use of personal or unencrypted USB devices on the data controller’s systems, and there was no provision for training contract workers in the data controller’s policies on data protection.

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Source: searchsecurity.techtarget.co.uk
By: Ron Condon