The ICO reported earlier today that "substantial amounts of
money" have been paid by brokers for the data, which includes the
expiry date of agreements customers have with a mobile phone
company. The information is used by competitors to offer people
deals towards the end of their existing contract.
T-Mobile, part of Deutsche Telekom, said that it had
contacted the ICO about the data breach. The company told news
agency Reuters that it did so after employees passed the
information to third parties "without our knowledge".
The ICO is preparing a file for prosecutors. It has raided
a number of premises under search warrant, it said.
Information Commissioner Christopher Graham said that the news
is evidence that tough jail sentences are needed for those who make
a business out of the illegal trade in personal data.
"The existing paltry fines for Section 55 [of the Data
Protection Act] offences are simply not enough to deter people from
engaging in this lucrative criminal activity. The threat of jail,
not fines, will prove a stronger deterrent," he said.
"We are considering the evidence with a view to prosecuting
those responsible and I am keen to go much further and close down
the entire unlawful industry in personal data. But, we will only be
able to do this if blaggers and others who trade in personal data
face the threat of a prison sentence," said Graham, who took up the
post in June of this year.
The Government has said that it will introduce increased
penalties and jail terms for the most serious breaches of the Data
Protection Act (DPA) from April next year.
The Government is consulting on its plan for the maximum jail
terms to be set at 12 months for summary conviction and two years
for conviction on indictment. It announced last week that it
intends the maximum fine to be £500,000.
The ICO's submission to the Government's consultation on jail
terms for data breaches says that in the case of the mobile phone
data sale "the number of records involved runs into the millions
and it appears that substantial amounts of money changed
hands".
"More and more personal information is being collected and held
by government, public authorities and businesses," said Graham. "In
the future, as new systems are developed and there is more and more
interconnection of these systems, the risks of unlawful obtaining
and disclosure become even greater."
"If public trust and confidence in the proper handling of
personal information, whether by government or by others, is to be
maintained effective sanctions are essential. This will not only
underline the serious nature of the offence but will ensure that
those convicted carry a meaningful criminal record," he said. "A
custodial sentence will also have the added benefit of making the
section 55 offence a recordable one and open up the possibility of
extradition in appropriate cases.”
Editor's note, 17/11/2009: This story was
updated after T-Mobile was named as the company at the centre of
the allegations.
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