FTSE 100 switchboards confused by data protection

The UK's biggest companies still struggle to deal with basic data protection enquiries, according to a survey of responses. Though almost all companies have taken some action, the majority are only paying "lip service" to the issue, the report (pdf) said. Agency Marketing Improvement has carried out previous tests in 2003 and …

[Nick Leverton]

Privacy versus money

"The cost of securing a server is less than it once was. If you can implement https cheaply, it's well worth doing. But that won't be £500 for all sites. Your website might use a content management system that wasn't designed with secure forms in mind. Making that change can cost a lot more than a few hundred pounds."

I am not a lawyer, but I somehow doubt you would be successful if your defence consisted of "we bought a sub-standard CMS system that wasn't capable of securing the personal data it held to an appropriate standard unless we paid someone shedloads more wonga - which we didn't bother to do" ....