By Steven Orpwood, Business Analyst and DPO

March 2020

 

I’m working from home and there’s a large probability you are too. We are in lockdown, but remember, the data you work with doesn’t follow government advice, and neither do those who would seek to use it inappropriately.

 

Now I may be a privacy consultant, but I’m also a technologist, and realise that working from home doesn’t mean organisations accept risk any more than they ordinarily would, but change is a great opportunity for hackers. Suddenly, people are working differently, from different locations, with different hours and new protocols to follow. This will inevitably produce loopholes, and so we need to be careful, we need to think twice about the information we’re sending, to whom it’s being sent, about where we’re storing it, and if we’re using a secure network.

 

In strange times, personal data is still personal, and whilst health professionals may need to use practices that they might otherwise avoid if it’s in the vital interest of their patients, for the majority of us the normal rules apply, and safe data protection practices should still be high on our agendas, even when we’re struggling to find business in a chaotic world.

 

Remember, if we keep ourselves and others safe, we’re contributing in a positive way, at a time when it really matters.

 

You might also be interested in reading some of the Aim team’s blogs here.

 

Find out about Aim’s data protection and GDPR services here and see how we can help.