The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has warned of additional fines to National Health Service organizations if they continue to not meet data protection obligations, Publicservice.co.uk reports. The warning comes on the heels of news that the medical data of as many as 1.8 million patients has been at risk within this year, the report states. An ICO spokesman told The Daily Dashboard, “The monetary penalties we issue are a very important way to discourage others from making the same data protection mistakes. In order to issue a monetary penalty, we have to fulfill the criteria set out in our statutory guidance. This includes demonstrating that the breach caused, or had the potential to cause, substantial damage and distress to those individuals affected and the organization knew or ought to have known that the breach could occur but still failed to take action. Where this criteria is met, we will consider serving an organization with a monetary penalty.”
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