Up to £500,000 fines for serious breaches

New powers designed to deter data breaches are expected to come into force on April 6, 2010. The ICO will be able to order organisations to pay up to £500,000 as a penalty for serious breaches of the Data Protection Act. The power to impose a monetary penalty is designed to deal with the most serious personal data breaches and is part of the ICO’s overall regulatory toolkit which includes the power to serve an enforcement notice and the power to prosecute those involved in the unlawful trade in confidential personal data.