As part of the new GDPR rules, it is the responsibility of the business or their data protection officer to report any data breaches to the relevant authority.  A data breach is the deliberate or accidental release of secure (private or confidential) information to an untrusted source.  These can include data leaks and spills as well as accidental release of data.

Data breach can be highly serious, depending on the nature of the breach, as well as the nature of the information released.  Data breaches may involve financial information such as credit card or bank details, which can be incredibly stressful and potentially dangerous for those involved.

The difference with GDPR data breach rules and the current regulations is that currently, there are no obligations on businesses to give notification about personal data breaches to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), whereas under the new rules, it will be essential to notify the ICO of any data breach within a 72 hour period.  This will put a great strain onto data protection officers, unless they have had full training in the new regulations and their changing roles.