Communications companies ‘to be given new data storage demands’
Feb 22 2012
Categories: Data Quality
Landline, mobile phone and internet operators look set to be ordered to overhaul their data management strategies as part of a Home Office project.
The government department has come up with plans to ensure more data is held and stored effectively, the Telegraph noted, adding that information will have to be kept for a year.
All emails, text messages and calls will be logged and recorded on vast databases, which would be accessible to the country's security services.
The penalty for breaching the Data Protection Act is already tough, as the Information Commissioner's Office recently told how it had to issue two British councils with fines totalling £180,000 after breaches.
It could now become even stricter, as companies are forced to maintain the security of their data for 12 months.
The newspaper admitted the proposal is likely to cause civil liberties controversy as well as make the security of data front-page news. It could be publicly announced as early as May.
