Data Breaches

A Personal Data Breach means the loss of control, compromise, unauthorised disclosure or unauthorised access to personally identifiable information, whether in physical (paper) or electronic form. A personal data breach can happen for a number of reasons, including:

• loss or theft of data or equipment on which data is stored (including break-in to a premises)
• inappropriate access controls allowing unauthorised use
• equipment failure
• human error
• unforeseen circumstances such as flood or fire
• a hacking attack
• access where information is obtained by deceiving the organisation that holds it.

Immediately upon identifying a data breach or a suspected breach, Teagasc’s workforce are obliged to inform the Teagasc Data Protection Officer (DPO), who must then commence an investigation, which includes mandatory reporting to the Data Protection Commission.

To contact us in relation to a suspected or actual breach, please see our Data Protection Officer contact details.