What
Loss of sensitive personal data.

How much
A few records.

Why

Sensitive personal data relating to several members of one family had been inadvertently disclosed, to an unrelated individual. This occurred because several members of both families, who lived in the same small village, submitted subject access requests to the data controller at roughly the same date.

Regulator
ICO

Regulatory action
Undertaking issued to ensure that a full briefing of subject access requests is provided to covering officers and a formal log of all requests is kept and made easily accessible.

Reason for action

The officer who usually dealt with such requests went on leave before full responses had been sent, and enquiries revealed that the covering officer had not been made aware that more than one request was outstanding from someone in the village. When information relating to one family was provided the covering officer assumed it was related to the other family, to whom he had earlier sent some documents left for him by his absent colleague.

When
17 March 2010

Links
View PDF of the Highland Council Undertaking (Breach Watch Archive)