Conference launched to prepare NI organisations for ICO new powers

AS we all know, the Information Commissioner’s Office now has the power to fine organisations up to £500,000 for deliberate or negligent data breaches and after Deputy Commissioner David Smith’s speech at InfoSecurity Europe, the tiger is no longer toothless.

Poised to attack, the ICO is ready to dish out hefty fines to those who are careless with their data security.  But recent market research showed smaller SMEs were unaware of the ICO’s new powers.

For Northern Ireland companies unsure about the changes in the law there is a conference next month that can help. 

The Legal-Island Data Protection & Compliance Update Conference takes place on Thursday 3^rdJune at Dunsilly Hotel, Junction One in Antrim.  The full day event aims to arm organisations with all the very latest information on how to comply with the new measures and avoid the substantial monetary penalties now in force.

The conference will break down the responsibilities of organisations when processing employee or customer data, explain the new penalties and advise on data storage or disposal.  The afternoon session is broken into three streams – Customer Data, Marketing Both Online and Offline and Human Resources.  Delegates can choose which stream will benefit them the most.

Conferences like this are very beneficial for organisations particularly management staff and those in charge of sensitive information.  As I have said many times it is vital to educate staff on data protection and it is the responsibility of management to initiate and then enforce security protocols in the workplace.

If that hasn’t sold you perhaps one of the speakers will.  Catherine Vint, a senior investigator in the Information Commissioner’s Office Northern Ireland will be addressing the conference.  Where better to get advice on how to avoid the £500k fine than from the ICO itself?

And if that still hasn’t sold you – we’ll be there!  DiskShred are one of the sponsors and we’ll be exhibiting at the conference.  If you have any questions about secure data destruction feel free to drop by and say hello. 

Full conference details and prices can be found here.