There were 34 breaches reported to the Office of the Data Protection Authority in the two-month period.
Just under three-quarters of these – 22 – occurred when personal data was sent to the wrong person by email accidentally and two instances where data was sent to the incorrect recipient by post.
Other self-reported breaches for the two-month period included three of inappropriate access, three cyber incidents, two unauthorised disclosures, one unauthorised access and one loss of data/paperwork/device.
These figures are the second group of statistics covering the Covid-19 lockdown from the ODPA, which emphasised the need for learning and improvement to better safeguard personal data handled in the Bailiwick and build a culture of compliance.
Data protection commissioner Emma Martins said the figures show a similar number of breaches reported since collation of the data began two years ago.
‘We would like to offer our thanks to those businesses and organisations that have managed to continue to fulfil their statutory duties under the recent challenging circumstances,’ she said.
‘Whilst it is largely reassuring that the number of reported breaches is remaining consistent, perhaps it’s time to ask organisations that do not routinely report to us to have another look at their procedures to ensure that there aren’t breaches occurring that we should be advised of.’
Mrs Martins continued by highlighting that the authority’s mandate was to educate and engage, not just enforce.
‘Our aim is to help and empower all organisations, large or small, to handle personal data correctly because first and foremost we want to prevent breaches from happening in the first place,’ she said.
‘If we are going to do that effectively we need to have good knowledge and understanding of the nature of incidents and how often they are occurring.
‘That in turn will enable us to provide more relevant and targeted support and guidance to those most at risk.
‘Now that lockdown has eased, our fortnightly drop-in sessions to support our local regulated community are starting again on 22 July so local businesses and organisations can visit our offices and meet a member of staff for advice.
‘We are committed to building a culture of compliance for the Bailiwick, one that recognises that we’re all only human and we all make mistakes, but by learning from those mistakes and improving how we work, we can strive for better levels of data protection, benefiting our community and our economy.’
The 34 breaches were split across a variety of sectors – five from public authorities, four from fiduciary entities and three each from banking, insurance and retail or wholesale establishments.
Charities, not for profit, education and training organisations, investment organisations and legal practices all reported two each, with the remaining eight split across five other sectors.
Data breaches have ranged from at its lowest of 26, when it began for the two months up to 18 October 2018, to its highest of 50 in the two months up to 25 June 2019.
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