ICO seeks to ‘put a price on data protection’

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has called for bids to undertake a three-month research project that will develop a sound business case to persuade organisations to invest in proactive privacy protection.

Post-completion, the research project -The business case for investing in proactive privacy protection- will help organisations identify the implications of not having proper data protection and privacy safeguards in place. It will enable organisations to place a monetary value on information as an asset, quantify the risks of holding information, and pinpoint the financial and reputational costs should problems occur.

Jonathan Bamford, assistant commissioner, ICO, said: “We are aware that one of the barriers to more proactive privacy protection is the absence of a soundly argued business case for expenditure. However, organisations can no longer afford to ignore data protection and CEOs need to wake up to the risks and responsibilities that come with vast data collection.

Data protection needs to be taken as seriously as health and safety by those at the top of the corporate structure.”

Calling for interested parties to bid for the project before 20 July 2009, ICO aims to establish a confident economic case that will help organisations protect privacy and provide a clear rationale to investors.

“It is important that this report reinforces the fact that data protection has become a matter of corporate and financial governance.”