ICO raps Scottish Court Service over data breach

The Scottish Court Service has been forced by privacy watchdog the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) to sign a formal undertaking after it was revealed that sensitive court documents were accidentally disposed of at a Glasgow recycling bank.

The ICO was first made aware of the breach when a Scottish newspaper published details of the files containing appeal documents in September 2010.

The regulator subsequently discovered that they had been lost by the editor of a series of law reports, and that the court service had failed to check how this person intended to keep them safe.

"People involved in court cases should be able to feel confident that their personal and sensitive information is going to be kept secure and not taken outside the courtroom," said Ken Macdonald, ICO assistant commissioner for Scotland.

"Had any of the papers in this case fallen into the wrong hands, the privacy of the individuals concerned might have been threatened."

The Scottish Court Service has been required to ensure that all staff are aware of the policy for the storage, use and disclosure or sharing of personal data.

All those involved in data sharing must also sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the court service.