An investigation has been launched into a data breach at a trade union expected to have impacted thousands of members across the Channel Islands.
Data protection authorities in Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, and the UK have come together to investigate the cyber incident in June which compromised data of trade union Prospect Custodian Trustees Ltd.
The union has more than 160,000 members who work as scientists, engineers, tech experts and in other specialist roles.
The organisation holds personal information about members – including financial data and sensitive data such as trade union membership, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, and religious belief.
The investigation will examine the amount of data exposed and the potential harm caused to the individuals involved, and whether Prospect had implemented sufficient technical and organisational safeguards to protect such sensitive personal information.
The data protection authorities will also investigate whether the union followed the statutory requirements for notifying the authorities about the breach, and if the immediate actions taken by the union were enough to reduce the risks to their members after the leak was discovered.
Brent Homan, Guernsey Data Protection Commissioner, said: “Cyber-attacks are increasingly impacting organisations holding data across borders and jurisdictions. International threats demand an international response.
“By joining forces with our partners in the UK and British Isles we will ensure an elevated level of protection for our collective citizens’ data rights.”
Paul Vane, Jersey Information Commissioner, added: “Cyber and phishing attacks are on the rise and are progressively targeting organisations and businesses which span multi-jurisdictionally.
“We must work collaboratively with other authorities in order to strengthen our enforcement mechanisms and protect the information and rights of data subjects in affected jurisdictions.”