Data protection officials said an investigation has been launched after a data breach of a trade union affected thousands of people.
The investigation by the UK Information Commissioner’s Office as well as data protection officials of Jersey, Guernsey, and Isle of Man will probe a breach of trade union Prospect Custodian Trustees in June of this year, the ICO said.
The union has more than 160,000 members working as scientists, engineers, tech experts and in other specialist roles.
Sensitive data
The organisation holds personal information on members including financial data and sensitive data such as trade union membership, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, and religious belief, the ICO said.
The authorities will look into the scope of the information exposed and potential harms, whether Prospect had adequate technical and organisational measures in place to protect the data, whether it notified authorities correctly, and whether it took appropriate measures to mitigate risks in its initial response to the breach.
“This joint investigation demonstrates our determination to work more closely with our international counterparts to ensure that data protection standards are upheld across all jurisdictions,” said UK information commissioner John Edwards.
Thousands affected
Guernsey’s Office of Data Protection said about 3,000 people in the Bailiwick had been affected.
Prospect apologised for the breach and said it offered support to those affected, including credit monitoring.
