ICO Publishes a New Guidance on Sending Bulk Communications by Email

The Information Commissioner’s Office (‘ICO’) has recently  issued a warning to organizations to use alternatives to the blind carbon copy (‘BCC’) email function when sending emails containing sensitive personal information, following a catalog of business blunders.

ICO publishes new guidance to help organizations understand the law and good practice around protecting personal information when sending bulk emails. You can access the Email and Security Guidance here.

The ICO has also recently emphasized the importance of using appropriate methods for bulk communications, reprimanding two Northern Irish organizations for disclosing people's information inappropriately via email. In March, the ICO reprimanded NHS Highland for a "serious breach of trust" involving data involving HIV service users.

ICO data reveals that the incorrect use of BCC is consistently among the top 10 non-cyber breaches, with nearly a thousand reported since 2019. The education sector is the biggest offender for BCC breaches, with health in second, then local government, retail, and the charity sector rounding out the top five.

A few email best practices for organizations:

·      Under data protection law, organizations must have appropriate technical and organizational measures in place to ensure personal information is kept safe and not inappropriately disclosed to others.

·      Organisations that use and share large amounts of data, including sensitive personal information, should consider using other secure means to send communications, such as bulk email services, so information is not shared with people by mistake.

·      Organisations should also consider having appropriate policies and training for staff in relation to email communications.

·      For non-sensitive communications, organizations that choose to use BCC should do so carefully to ensure personal email addresses are not shared inappropriately with other customers, clients, or other organizations.

You can reach full text of the press release here.

Kind regards,

Zumbul Attorneys-at-Law

info@zumbul.av.tr