14 DAY TRIAL // Mustafa Kasim, a former employee of accident repair firm Nationwide Accident Repair Services (NARS), was sentenced to six months behind bars after the first Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) Computer Misuse Act prosecution.
The ICO is UK’s independent regulator for information rights law and data protection which has as its primary mission the upholding information rights in the public interest, as well as promoting data privacy for individuals and openness by all public entities.
According to the ICO, "Mustafa Kasim, who worked for accident repair firm Nationwide Accident Repair Services (NARS), accessed thousands of customer records containing personal data without permission, using his colleagues’ log-in details to access a software system that estimates the cost of vehicle repairs, known as Audatex."
Subsequently, after moving to another company in the field of car repairs, he kept using his colleagues' credentials to login in the same software to access customer personal information, such as "names, phone numbers, vehicle and accident information."
Kasim was discovered after his initial employer noticed an unusual increase in customer complaints which reported spam calls.
Kasim continued using the NARS software system after moving to his new employer
"Data obtained in these circumstances is a valuable commodity, and there was evidence of customers receiving unwarranted calls from claims management companies causing unnecessary anxiety and distress," said Mike Shaw, Group Manager Criminal Investigations Team at the ICO.
Kasim was sentenced after pleading guilty on September 2018 of unauthorized access to personal data of his company's customers, from January 13, 2016, to October 19, 2016.
The sentence issued at Wood Green Crown Court also comes with a number of confiscation proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
Confiscation procedures will allow the state to recover any benefits Kasim may have obtained after his crimes, and all recovered assets are paid to the Treasury’s Consolidated Fund.