Companies should remember the basics for protecting contact data

Many companies are neglecting to remember the basics of data protection in practices of address verification and validating email addresses, according to deputy information commissioner David Smith.

Mr Smith spoke at the Infosecurity Europe Event to say that he thought companies around the world were spending too much time focusing on technical security and not enough on data.

He blamed staff awareness and training for the failings in this area, v3 reported.

The commissioner told the news provider: "A lot of this is basic stuff. My key message is that, of course, the technical side of security is important and there are some big threats from hacking and interception, but so many organisations are still not getting the basics right."

Theft of data including email addresses, contact data and other data held by companies, has been on the rise around the world recently, including in New Zealand.