Encryption is 'a simple and widely used security measure' that must be used when sensitive information is being stored and sent electronically.

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A former Sky employee who passed on customers’ information from its databases to third parties has been found liable for infringement of the company’s database rights.

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A website’s ‘temporary security flaw’ does not merit a civil monetary penalty, says the ICO, where this concerns a limited amount of non-sensitive personal information being compromised.  

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The Information Commissioner has fined Greater Manchester Police £120,000 for the loss of sensitive information. 

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Grossly offensive social media communications are to attract the use of remedies other than criminal prosecution.

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The ICO has received 486 complaints via its online cookie reporting tool indicating a steady increase since JISC Legal reported this issue last month.

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As an employee you are required to comply with reasonable instructions from your employer. 

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The EU Commission’s recent communication on cloud computing outlines the actions needed to encourage the use of cloud computing.

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The ICO has published a new cloud computing guide that highlights the data protection risks that cloud computing presents as well as suggesting approaches that will assist with compliance.

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A new report produced by the Information Commissioner's Office aims to help schools ensure they are handling pupils’ personal information in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998.   

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Making personal information publicly available on Facebook puts students at particular risk of having bank accounts fraudulently accessed.

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Good records management is essential to efficient handling of FOI requests.

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Vitae Innovate has published a 'Handbook of Social Media for Researchers and Supervisors' which is a resource to assist early career researchers and their supervisors adopt social media tools in their research and develop a social media strategy for research dialogues.

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Advice from the Department for Education on the Equality Act 2010 has been updated.

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The ICO's latest blog posting on cookies updates their enforcement strategy.

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The ICO has fined Scottish Borders Council £250,000 for failure to put in place appropriate guarantees on how data would be kept secure when it engaged an external company.

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Where a college employs students as apprentices and provides them access to MIS information as part of the responsibilities of their job and this enables them to view the records of other students this would not be a breach of data protection law in itself. 

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It is possible to adapt some that are available online providing you comply with the licence conditions. 

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The seventh data protection principle provides that "Appropriate technical and organisational measures shall be taken  ... (cont)

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Vitae Innovate has published a 'Handbook of Social Media for Researchers and Supervisors' a resource that assists early career researchers to adopt social media tools.

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Covert monitoring is surveillance of online activity without giving the users involved specific notification that this is going on.  It clearly has legal implications relating to ... (cont)

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New guidance has been published by the Information Commissioner’s Office which assists colleges and universities in determining when to release personal data about their employees under the Freedom of Information Act and Environmental Information Regulations.

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The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has published new guidance which clarifies how colleges and universities can ensure compliance with the fifth principle of the Data Protection Act when archiving or deleting personal data.

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The deadline for written responses to the consultation on the Draft Communications Data Bill has now passed.

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A Decision published by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) regarding the accidental release of personal data to students in a sixth form college, highlights the need for all colleges to have in place appropriate practices and procedures to ensure compliance with data protection law.

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The ISEB Certificate in Data Protection is ideal for those who wish to have their knowledge and expertise recognised through a formal qualification.

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The ISEB Certificate in Data Protection is ideal for those who wish to have their knowledge and expertise recognised through a formal qualification.

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The Scottish Information Commissioner decides that a university was entitled to withhold details of the payment made to its former Principal.

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The general rule of UK defamation law is that the publisher of defamation faces liability.  This applies to FE and HE institutions in the same way as ... (cont)

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The BSI and CSA are to develop a trusted global certification scheme to provide trust and transparency to how cloud service providers operate.

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The High Court in Belfast recently ordered Facebook to identify anonymous account holders responsible for posting abusive messages about a Belfast company and its employees.

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Professor Charles Oppenheim’s book The No-Nonsense Guide to Legal Issues in Web 2.0 and Cloud Computing is now available from Facet Publishing.

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The ICO has issued a timely reminder for students on the rights they have to access  information such as the breakdown of their exam marks and examiner comments.

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Defamation, harassment, malicious falsehood, assault, data protection breach, fraud, trademark and copyright infringement are just some of the legal risks when tweeting from or to the UK.

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Tell people what you are doing with their data, make sure staff are adequately trained, use strong passwords, encrypt portable devices and keep personal information only for as long as necessary.

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Google has been fined $22.5m (£14.4m) for tracking users activites without their permission.

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While organisations can publish equality and diversity information about staff in an aggregated form, this release of their personal information was unnecessary and a £175,000 penalty has been served. 

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A security breach at online storage service Dropbox highlights the need to consider a provider's security measures when using cloud services.

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The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has prosecuted a Lancashire bar owner for failure to register use of CCTV equipment at his premises.

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Firstly it is necessary to try and distinguish between emails which contain information which are business records and emails which are just  ... (cont)

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This guidance is intended for staff in UK FE colleges whose provision includes further education or training for vulnerable learners with varying needs including disability issues.

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Some software permits staff to view from a remote device what students are viewing on their computer screens.  What are the legal implications of using such software?

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This is a legal guide for mergers, outsourcing and partnership working focusing on contract, data protection, ownership and freedom of information law.

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This webcast deals with outsourcing email, moving data storage off-campus and using external servers and data centres provided by cloud services.  The recording of the webcast - Cloud Computing and the Law - is now available online.  

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This briefing addresses the legal issues that further and higher education institutions may face when engaging with employers as part of their Business and Community Engagement ("BCE") activities.

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Article 29 Working Party Opinion rejects the view that, because browser software can block cookies, any user who does not block cookies is giving consent.

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The Information Commissioner’s Office has launched a short survey into the use of privacy impact assessments (PIA) by organisations in the UK.

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This briefing tackles the legal issues that further and higher education institutions may face when delivering lifelong learning as part of their Business and Community Engagement ("BCE") activities.

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This briefing gives an overview of some of the legal issues which institutions can face when carrying out cultural and public engagement activities as part of their Business and Community Engagement ("BCE") activities.

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In response to a complaint concerning Nike, the ASA has made it clear that marketing tweets must be clearly marked as such.

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