Onset of Covid, Omicron variant highlights importance of data protection   

The Office of the Ombudsman noted on 28 January 2022, International Data Protection Day, that data protection legislation is more crucial to privacy and information rights than ever, given the onset of the Omicron variant of the Covid-19 virus.  

“Our office has released public guidance within the past year on data protection issues related to employees’ Covid vaccination data,” said Deputy Ombudsman (Information Rights) Jan Liebaers. “We also continued to receive more reports of data breaches and complaints about data protection during 2021 – the second full year Cayman’s Data Protection Act (DPA) has been in effect.”  

The Ombudsman’s office saw a 15 per cent increase in data protection queries from the public during 2021 and a more than 50 per cent increase in the number of data breaches being reported, where we were notified that personal data had been accessed, lost, altered or disclosed in an unlawful or unauthorized manner.  

The DPA contains important rights for individuals, including the right to be informed about how personal data is being used. Individuals also have the right to request corrections to inaccurate personal data, to object to direct marketing and to request access to their personal data. The Act also sets rules for the use of personal data by public and private sector organizations based on eight core data protection principles. Those cover fairness, adequacy, retention and security of personal data processing, among other requirements.  

The Office of the Ombudsman oversees and enforces the DPA. Individuals have the right to complain to the Ombudsman if they believe their data is not being processed in compliance with the Act. Those complaints also increased in 2021, compared to the prior year.  

“Letting individuals know about their data rights and investigating complaints and data breaches is now the single busiest area within our office – particularly as more day-to-day commerce and public interactions have moved online in the wake of Covid shutdowns and work-from-home solutions,” Mr. Liebaers said.   

Please visit the Ombudsman website for more information including FAQs, guidance and other resources to help you understand your data protection rights and obligations: www.ombudsman.ky/data-protection or send your questions to: [email protected]