Human error causes most data breaches. Training is your first defence. Here’s what good training includes. Even the best systems fail when staff don’t understand data risk. Good training should cover: Make it: Training isn’t optional — it’s your insurance policy against simple mistakes becoming major incidents.
Knowing where breaches start is half the battle. These five causes account for most incidents in professional firms. Most data breaches stem from everyday errors — not hackers. In professional services, the top five causes include: All of these can be reduced with training, tech, and clear policy enforcement.
Fast breach detection reduces impact and costs. Here are tools and signs to watch How to Detect a Data Breach Early The longer a breach goes unnoticed, the worse the damage. Early detection requires: Build breach detection into your incident response — not just your IT tools.
Should you notify individuals after a breach? UK GDPR requires it if their risk is high. Here’s how to assess that. If a data breach is likely to result in a high risk to the rights and freedoms of individuals, you must inform them without undue delay. High-risk examples: Your message should: Clear and timely…
A yearly review of your retention practices helps avoid silent failures. Here’s how to do one well. Retention rules are only as good as their enforcement. An annual review ensures your policies are followed — and still relevant. What to include in your yearly audit: Make it light-touch but regular. Small course corrections now prevent…
The older the data, the more dangerous it becomes. Here’s why ageing data is a hidden security risk. Most cyber breaches don’t happen with fresh data — they happen with old, forgotten, poorly protected files. Why? Retention = risk control. Regularly deleting old personal data significantly reduces the impact of a breach — both legally…
Are you keeping leavers’ data too long? Learn what the law says and how to reduce legal exposure. Many organisations store former employee data indefinitely — just in case. But UK GDPR doesn’t allow for “just in case” retention. Key retention timelines to know: After this period, data should be deleted or anonymised. Keeping more…
Email systems are often the biggest data retention risk. Here’s what compliance and IT need to fix. Email is often overlooked in data retention strategies — yet it’s where the most unstructured personal data lives. Archived emails may contain salary details, medical information, and candidate records — often held for years without review. UK GDPR…