ICO Publishes Online Data Protection Guide

The UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has released an online guide to help businesses charities and public organisations efficiently secure their data, technology news website ZDNet reports.

Published on the ICO’s official website, the code of practice is targeted at small to medium businesses, charities and public bodies, and aims to help them to understand that data protection is a serious issue and must be treated as such to avoid penalties.

"A record of our online activity can reveal our most personal interests. Mislead consumers or collect information you don't need, and you are likely to diminish customer trust and face enforcement action from the ICO," warned Information Commissioner Christopher Graham on Wednesday.

Along with the code of practice, the ICO has also provided a checklist highlighting the steps an organisation must take to ensure data protection, advising the companies about scams, information disclosure and the use of privacy settings.