East Durham College - Data Breach Notification Policy

POLICY TITLE: 6.1.2
DOCUMENT NUMBER: Data Breach Notification Policy
GROUPING POLICY: Security, Confidentiality & Information
AUTHOR / REVISOR / OWNER: Vice Principal - Finance & Business Planning
DATE OF CURRENT VERSION: Sept 2026

The policy relates to all members of Staff, governors, contractors, agency workers, learners, volunteers and visitors of the College and explains the process for identifying and notifying a personal data breach. 

The College’s key concern in relation to any breach affecting Personal Data is to contain the breach and take appropriate action to minimise, as far as possible, any adverse impact on any individual affected. The College has therefore implemented this Policy to ensure all College Personnel are aware of what a personal data breach is and how they should deal with it if it arises. 

Any failure to follow this Policy may result in disciplinary action. 

College Personnel will receive a copy of this Policy when they start and may receive periodic revisions of this Policy.  

This Policy does not form part of any College Personnel’s contract of employment, and the College reserves the right to change this Policy at any time.  

Staff and students will also receive training as part of their induction around data protection and cyber security as both are inter-linked. 

Learners and visitors will have access to this Policy via the college website, in the policy section: https://www.eastdurham.ac.uk/data-breach-notification-policy 

All College Personnel, learners and visitors are obliged to comply with this Policy at all times. 

The College’s reputation and future growth are dependent on the way the College manages and protects Personal Data. As an organisation that collects and uses Personal Data, the College takes seriously its obligations to keep that Personal Data secure and to deal with security breaches relating to Personal Data when they arise. 

CONTENTS 

1. Definitions 
2. What is a personal data breach 
3. Reporting a personal data breach 
4. Managing a personal data breach 
5. Containment and Recovery 
6. Assessment of Ongoing Risk 
7. Notification 
8. Evaluation and Response 

1.1 College – East Durham College  

1.2 College Personnel – Any College employee or contractor who has been authorised to access any of the College’s Personal Data and will include employees, consultants, contractors, and temporary personnel hired to work on behalf of the College. 

1.3 UK Data Protection Legislation – The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018, the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) and all other applicable laws relating to the collection and use of Personal Data enforced from time to time. 

1.4 Data Protection Officer – The Data Protection Officer can be contacted by e-mail at dpo@eastdurham.ac.uk 

1.5 Information Commission – the UK’s supervisory authority. 

1.6 Learners – any individuals enrolled on a course or programme of study, past or present 

1.7 Personal Data – any information about an individual which identifies them or allows them to be identified in conjunction with other information that is held. Personal Data is defined very broadly and covers both ordinary Personal Data from personal contact details and business contact details to special categories of personal data such as trade union membership, genetic data and religious beliefs. It also covers information that allows an individual to be identified indirectly for example an identification number, location data or an online identifier. 

2.1 The College takes information security very seriously and the College has security measures against unlawful or unauthorised processing of Personal Data and against the accidental loss of, or damage to, Personal Data. The College has in place procedures and technologies to maintain the security of all Personal Data from the point of collection to the point of destruction. 

2.2 Personal data breach is defined very broadly and is effectively any failure to keep Personal Data secure, which leads to the accidental or unlawful loss (including loss of access to), destruction, alteration, or unauthorised disclosure of Personal Data. Whilst most personal data breaches happen because of action taken by a third party, they can also occur as a result of something someone internal does.  

2.3 A personal data breach could include any of the following: 

2.3.1 loss or theft of Personal Data or equipment that stores Personal Data;  

2.3.2 loss or theft of Personal Data or equipment that stores the College’s Personal Data from a College supplier; 

2.3.3 inappropriate access controls meaning unauthorised College Personnel can access Personal Data; 

2.3.4 any other unauthorised use of or access to Personal Data.  

2.3.5 deleting Personal Data in error; 

2.3.6 human error (which could be as simple as putting a letter in the wrong envelope, sending unencrypted data in an email to the wrong person, sending an unsecured e-mail outside the organisation, sending an email or document to the wrong recipient or leaving a phone or laptop containing Personal Data on a train). 

2.3.7 hacking attack resulting in the loss of personal data; 

2.3.8 infection by ransom ware or any other intrusion on our systems/network;  

2.3.9 ‘blagging’ offences where information is obtained by deceiving the organisation who holds it; or 

2.3.10 destruction or damage to the integrity or accuracy of Personal Data. 

2.4 A personal data breach can also include:  

2.4.1 equipment or system failure that causes Personal Data to be temporarily unavailable;  

2.4.2 unforeseen circumstances such as a fire, flood or power failure that causes Personal Data to be temporarily unavailable;  

2.4.3inability to restore access to Personal Data, either on a temporary or permanent basis; or 

2.4.4 loss of a decryption key where Personal Data has been encrypted because this means the College cannot restore access to the Personal Data. 

3.1 College Personnel must immediately notify any personal data breach to the Data Protection Officer via the online GDPR Sentry system, no matter how big or small and whether or not College Personnel think a breach has occurred or is likely to occur. This allows the College to contain the personal data breach as soon as possible, and in any event within 24 hours of notification, to consider a recovery plan to minimise any risk of damage to the individuals affected and to the College. 

 3.2 If College Personnel discover a personal data breach outside working hours, College Personnel must notify it to the College’s Data Protection Officer as soon as possible. dpo@eastdurham.ac.uk 

 3.3 College Personnel may be notified by a third party (e.g. a supplier that processes Personal Data on the College’s behalf) that they have had a breach that affects College Personal Data. College Personnel must notify this breach to the College’s Data Protection Officer, and this Policy shall apply to the personal data breach. 

4.1 There are four elements to managing a personal data breach or a potential one and this Policy considers each of these elements: 

4.1.1 Containment and recovery;  

4.1.2 Assessment of on-going risk;  

4.1.3 Notification; and 

4.1.4 Evaluation and response. 

4.2 At all stages of this Policy, the Data Protection Officer in conjunction with CLG and/or CMG will consider whether the personal data breach is serious enough to be informed to the insurers and/or to seek external legal advice. 

5.1 An initial assessment (including but not limited to, what steps can be taken to contain the breach, recover the loss of any Personal Data or to prevent damage being caused) of the personal data breach will be carried out by the Data Protection Officer. 

5.2 If the personal data breach is unlikely to result in a risk to the rights and freedoms of the individuals affected, and the personal data breach has been contained (and, where appropriate, the Personal Data has been restored), it will be added to the College’s Data Breach Register and no further action will be taken. 

5.3 If the personal data breach may impact on the rights and freedoms of the individuals affected, then the College will put together and implement a bespoke personal data breach plan to address the personal data breach concerned in accordance with this Policy. This will include consideration of: 

5.3.1 whether there are any other people within the College who should be informed of the breach, such as IT team members, the senior management team, HR team members and, where appropriate, insurers to ensure that the breach is contained;  

; and 

5.3.2 whether it is necessary to contact other third parties such as students, parents, banks, the Information Commission, external legal advisors, Action Fraud or the police particularly in the case of stolen Personal Data. All notifications shall be made by the Data Protection Officer.  

5.4 All actions taken in relation to a personal data breach will be in accordance with this Policy which is maintained and administered by the Data Protection Officer. 

5.5 The Data Protection Officer is responsible for ensuring that the Data Breach Register is kept updated on the GDPR Sentry system. 

As part of the College’s response to a personal data breach, once the personal data breach has been contained, the College will consider the on-going risks to the College and to any other party caused by the personal data breach and what remedial action can be taken to minimise the impact of the personal data breach. This will be undertaken in accordance with this Policy.

7.1 Under the UK Data Protection Legislation, the College may have to notify the Information Commission and also possibly the individuals affected about the personal data breach. 

7.2 Any notification will be made by the Data Protection Officer in accordance with this Policy. The notification shall comply with the requirements of the Information Commission. 

7.3 Notification of a personal data breach must be made to the Information Commission without undue delay and where feasible within 72 hours of when the College becomes aware of the breach unless it is unlikely to result in a risk to the rights and freedoms of individuals. It is therefore imperative that College Personnel notify all personal data breaches to the College in accordance with this Policy immediately. 

7.4 Notification of a personal data breach must be made to the individuals affected without undue delay where the breach is likely to result in a high risk to the rights and freedoms of individuals. If appropriate, this will be done within 5 days of becoming aware of a personal data breach. 

7.5 Please note that not all personal data breaches are notifiable to the Information Commission and/or the individuals affected, and the College will decide whether to notify and who to notify in accordance with this Policy. 

7.6 Where the personal data breach relates to a temporary loss of availability of the College’s systems, the College does not have to notify if the lack of availability of Personal Data is unlikely to result in a risk to the rights and freedoms of individuals. The College does not consider that it has any systems where temporary unavailability would cause a risk to the rights and freedoms of individuals, but this will be assessed on a case-by-case basis in accordance with this Policy. 

7.7 In the case of complex breaches, the College may need to carry out in-depth investigations. In these circumstances, the College will notify the Information Commission with the information that it has within 72 hours of awareness and will notify additional information in phases. Any delay in notifying the Information Commission will put the College in breach of the UK Data Protection Legislation. 

7.8 Where a personal data breach has been notified to the Information Commission, any changes in circumstances or any relevant additional information which is discovered in relation to the personal data breach shall also be notified to the Information Commission in accordance with this Policy. 

7.9 When the College notifies the affected individuals, it will do so in clear and plain language and in a transparent way. Any notifications to individuals affected will be done in accordance with this Policy. Any notification to an individual should include details of the action the College has taken in relation to containing the breach and protecting the individual. It should also give any advice about what they can do to protect themselves from adverse consequences arising from the breach.

8.1 It is important not only to investigate the causes of the personal data breach but to document the details of the personal data breach and evaluate the effectiveness of the College’s response to it and the remedial action taken.  

8.2 There will be an evaluation after any personal data breach of the causes of the personal data breach and the effectiveness of the College’s response to it. Where appropriate, a recovery plan to minimise the risk to individuals will be put in place. All such investigations shall be carried out in accordance with this Policy and will be recorded on the Personal Data Breach Register. 

8.3 Any remedial action such as changes to the College’s systems, policies or procedures and, where appropriate, training will be implemented in accordance with the UK data protection legislation, including revision of the DPIA (Data Privacy Impact Assessment) and the processes held on the GDPR Sentry system. 

Any questions about the operation of this Policy or any concerns that this Policy has not been followed should be referred in the first instance to the College’s Data Protection Officer. 

• UK General Data Protection Regulation Policy 

This document is issued and controlled by Quality & Standards and may only be modified by the designated group after proposed modifications have been accepted by the College Management Group. The latest version of the policy will be maintained on the College Extranet.

Please feedback to Quality & Standards any constructive suggestions on how any aspect of the policy may be clarified or improved.