UK Home Office 'repeatedly breached GDPR'

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

The UK Home Office breached GPDR at least 100 times when dealing with applications for residency rights as part of the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS).

According to a report from David Bolt, the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration (ICIBI), significant and manifold breaches of the data protection regulation occurred as part of the vetting process.

Citizens of the EU, EEA and Switzerland can use the EUSS to apply for settled status that would allow them to remain in the United Kingdom after 30 June 2021. By January, the number of applications received had reached more than 2.7 million.

GDPR breach

The ICIBI investigation found GDPR had been breached 100 times between March 30 and August 31 by the Home Office - the ministerial department responsible for managing the EUSS.

Despite staff attending mandatory GDPR training, the report said the Home Office was guilty of misplacing documents and identification, losing passports, sending emails to the wrong recipients and sharing applicant information with third parties without permission.

The incidents described are generally process-related and should therefore be relatively simple to remedy. The ICIBI report called for the government department “to do everything it can to keep breaches to a minimum” and to minimise simple errors through “clear instructions and good organisation.”

The Home Office insists it pays close attention to process and is committed to ensuring it adheres to data protection regulations.

“We regularly review all processes and procedures to mitigate against data breaches. These are reviewed regularly and amended if needed," it said.

"We are also in discussion with the heads of security, integrity and data protection to ensure our processes are aligned to GDPR compliance."

The department says GDPR awareness training is compulsory and sessions held at regular intervals to account for staff churn.

Via ZDNet

Joel Khalili
News and Features Editor

Joel Khalili is the News and Features Editor at TechRadar Pro, covering cybersecurity, data privacy, cloud, AI, blockchain, internet infrastructure, 5G, data storage and computing. He's responsible for curating our news content, as well as commissioning and producing features on the technologies that are transforming the way the world does business.

Latest in Security
Google Chrome dark mode
Google updates Chrome extension rules to ban affiliate link injection without user action or benefit
Abstract image of robots working in an office environment including creating blueprint of robot arm, making a phone call, and typing on a keyboard
This worrying botnet targets unsecure TP-Link routers - thousands of devices already hacked
Avast cybersecurity
UK cybersecurity sector could be worth £13bn, research shows
An option to add Ambient Music buttons to the iOS 18.4 Control Center.
Apple fixes dangerous zero-day used in attacks against iPhones and iPads
Trump
Hackers are abusing $TRUMP tokens to lure victims in to new phishing scam
An American flag flying outside the US Capitol building against a blue sky
Sean Plankey selected as CISA director by President Trump
Latest in News
The Discovery+ homepage
Discovery+ just got a big update to its streaming app that makes it more like Max – here are 5 great new features to try
Two Android phones on a green and blue background showing Google Messages
Struggling with slow Google Messages photo transfers? Google says new update will make 'noticeable difference'
Google Meet create custom backgrounds
More AI features are coming to Google Workspace
Elayne, Egwene, and Nynaeve dressed regally and on horseback in The Wheel of Time season 3
'There's a reason why we do it': The Wheel of Time showrunner responds to fans who are still upset over the Prime Video show's plot alterations
A mockup of the possible Apple M3 Ultra logo
Performance isn't the only reason you should buy Apple's M3 Ultra Mac Studio - it's reportedly one of the most power-efficient processors too
Google Pixel 9
Android 16 could bring an improved Samsung DeX-style desktop mode to more phones