Charities reported 152 data security incidents to the Information Commissioner’s Office in the year to March 2018, with over a third being reported in the first three months of this year, according to the latest update from the data regulator.
In the quarter from January to March 2018, charities reported 59 data security incidents, up from the 35 in the previous three months - a 69 per cent increase.
This is in line with other sectors, which have also seen rises. Charity incidents amount to 6.2 per cent of all data security incidents recorded by the ICO.
In the fourth quarter there were a total of 957 incidents across all sectors. This is up by 17 per cent on Q3 when it was 815.
“We believe the recent increases are possibly due to increased awareness of the GDPR and the launch of our new Personal Data Breach helpline,” the ICO said.
The increase in charity incidents was mainly down to an increase in charities sending data to incorrect email recipients, with this rising from four to 20.
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