The department auctioned a filing cabinet containing sensitive data

Feb 11, 2014 14:32 GMT  ·  By

The Information Commissioner’s Office has fined Northern Ireland’s Department of Justice with £185,000 ($303,000 / €222,000) after one of 59 filing cabinets auctioned by the organization has been found to store documents containing personal information.

Justice Minister David Ford noted that the security breach had been caused by human error, not a “systemic problem within the Department.” All of the other 58 filing cabinets auctioned by the Compensation Agency in 2012 were checked, but none of them contained any files.

“Detailed procedures have now been implemented to ensure that, in future, any personal data contained in furniture that is being disposed of will be dealt with securely,” Ford said.

The Department of Justice has agreed to pay the fine, so the monetary penalty has been reduced to £148,000 ($243,000 / €177,000) for early payment.