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Company Fined for Laptop Theft
This past Wednesday, the Financial Services Authority (“FSA”) fined Nationwide, a U.K. based financial services provider, £980,000. Nationwide was fined because a laptop containing sensitive customer data was stolen from the home of a Nationwide employee. The FSA asserts that Nationwide’s security was inadequate. In this case, Nationwide waited three weeks after the computer theft to start its investigation.
Although Nationwide contends none of the data on the laptop could have been used for identity theft, the FSA’s fine was an attempt to send a strong message regarding the importance of security control for customer data. To that end, Margaret Cole, the director of enforcement at the FSA states, “...firms must keep their systems up to date to prevent lapses in security.” Nationwide asserts that the employee at issue did not follow existing Nationwide security protocol procedures.
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