Manchester City Council's Major Data Security Breach Involving Bank Card Photos

• •Manchester City Council stored images of bank cards, creating a critical data security risk.
• •No evidence of unauthorized access to the bank card images has been reported.
• •An investigation by the Information Commissioner's Office has been requested by a council member.

Manchester City Council has come under scrutiny for a significant data security blunder involving the retention of images of residents' bank cards on internal communication channels. The audit committee's report indicated that these images were stored for staff to verify bank details related to children's social care payments, creating a 'critical' data security risk. Although the council stated that there was no evidence of a security breach, concerns have been raised about the potential exposure of sensitive information to multiple staff members. The council acknowledged the issue and reported that management actions were taken to remove the remaining records. Lib Dem councillor Richard Kilpatrick has called for an investigation by the Information Commissioner's Office, expressing worries about a culture of non-disclosure regarding mistakes. The council has since removed the images and claims that no unauthorized access occurred.