The British Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) reduced a fine imposed on the British government last year for a data breach in 2019.
Instead of half a million pounds, the British Cabinet Office has to pay 50,000 pounds.
In the data breach, a CSV file with more than a thousand addresses was accidentally published on an official website of the British government. The addresses came from candidates for the New Year Honours, an event celebrating Britons doing charitable work.
The Cabinet Office, which supported the British Prime Minister and was responsible for the data breach, has appealed the fine.
However, the service found the punishment too high and disproportionate. The privacy watchdog agrees with this and has now substantially reduced the fine, ‘partly due to the current economic pressure’.
