Poll: Execs should be jailed for data loss

Top executives should face prison if their organisations are found to be responsible for losing customer data.

That's the view of more than a third (35 per cent) of readers who took part in the latest silicon.com poll and who believe the punishment for data loss should be much more serious.

Other voters were slightly less draconian in their views with 31 per cent suggesting company bosses should be fired for losing data.

silicon.com's Full Disclosure campaign - what we are asking for...

silicon.com wants the government to review its data protection legislation and improve the reporting of information security breaches in the public and private sectors.

We are calling for greater public debate and for the government to consider legislation that would require organisations that suffer information security breaches to alert their customers if there is a chance the breach has put individuals' sensitive personal data at risk.

We want to hear your views about this campaign and the issues it raises. Make your voice heard by leaving a Reader Comment below or emailing us at editorial@silicon.com.

The next most popular punishment - voted for by 21 per cent of respondents and arguably the most likely to come into force - was for companies who have lost data to be fined.

Naming and shaming was voted for by 11 per cent of silicon.com readers as the best punishment, while just under three per cent said no punishment should be meted out at all.

The poll follows on from the HM Revenue & Customs loss in November 2007 of two CDs containing the details of 25 million people and a flurry of reported incidents since.

silicon.com's Full Disclosure campaign recently made a breakthrough when the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) called for "knowingly or recklessly" breaching the Data Protection Act to become a criminal offence.

See what silicon.com's editor, Steve Ranger had to say about the ICO comments in his Editor's Blog.

Find out more about the changes in the law silicon.com is calling for in the Full Disclosure special report.