46 | AUGUST 2019
Business
Read online at www.proinstaller.co.uk
TURBULENT TIMES AT BRITISH
AIRWAYS WITH PROSPECT OF
RECORD £183 MILLION GDPR FINE
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has informed British Airways and its parent
company, International Airlines Group (IAG), that it plans to issue a record fine of £183.39
million following a sizeable breach of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
pointed” by the decision, Willie
Walsh, Chief Executive of IAG
commented: “British Airways will
be making representations to the
ICO in relation to the proposed
fine. We intend to take all appro- priate steps to defend the airline’s
position vigorously, including
making any necessary appeals.”
Whilst the fine is the equiva-
lent of 1.5% of BA’s worldwide
turnover in 2017, it could be far
worse with a maximum fine of 4%
of annual global turnover available
to the ICO.
Jade Greenhow, Operations
Director at Insight Data com-
ments: “This record fine clearly
shows the ICO will not stand by
as businesses brazenly disregard
GDPR compliance. As proven by
Google, Facebook and countless
other businesses both large and
small, you simply cannot fly under
the radar or avoid taking the necessary precautions to protect
personal data.
“It’s a message the window in-
dustry needs to hear as many think
they are too small to avoid the cross
hairs of the ICO. In fact, it’s never
been so important to ensure your
business complies. At Insight Data,
we work with businesses across the
supply chain to provide a cost-effec-
tive and compliant solution which
allows them to stay on the right side
of GDPR, whilst still effectively mar-
keting to prospective customers.”
The new partnership comes as
CMS Window Systems launches
its new trade division, allowing
the firm to better support smaller
builders and installers across Scot-
land. CMS Trade operates from a
25,000 sqft facility in East Kilbride,
manufacturing a full range of window and door systems for resi-
dential new-build and replacement
projects.
Kirsty Winter, Business Devel-
opment Manager at Insight Data
comments: “The highly-targeted
nature of our data allows busi-
nesses like CMS to connect with its ideal customer, whether that’s
businesses in Scotland, across the
UK or within its local area. The
addition of STEM makes it easier
than ever before to use this data to
directly promote products and
The fine, which will eclipse
the previous record of Google’s
£44 million penalty, relates to a
cyber-attack last year. The data
breach saw website users directed
to a fraudulent site, where cus-
tomer details were harvested. In
total, over 500,000 customers were
affected with login, payment card,
and travel booking details as well
as the name and address informa-
tion all compromised.
Information Commissioner Eliz-
abeth Denham said: “People’s per-
sonal data is just that – personal.
That’s why the law is clear – when
you are entrusted with personal
data you must look after it. Those
that don’t will face scrutiny from
my office to check they have taken
appropriate steps to protect funda-
mental privacy rights.”
While BA Chairman, Alex Cruz
says he is “surprised and disap-
For more information on GDPR
compliance, contact Insight
Data on 01934 808293 or via
email at [email protected]
Pioneering Scottish
manufacturer CMS
Window Systems
appoints Insight Data
CMS Window Systems, one of Scotland’s
leading designers, manufacturers and
installers of windows, doors and curtain
walling, has strengthened its operation
by partnering with Insight Data.
Operating across Scotland
for well-over a decade, the re-
spected manufacturer will now in-
tegrate Insight Data’s intelligence
into its sales and marketing strate-
gies. CMS will be taking advantage
of Insight Data’s fenestration and
local builders databases, which
provide live business information
and contact details for companies,
general builders and contractors in
the Scottish market.
Alongside Salestracker and its
online prospect database and CRM
system, the CMS team will also be
using STEM, Salestracker’s inte-
grated email marketing platform.
This allows users to design, build
and send dynamic email cam-
paigns from within Salestracker,
using the real-time prospect data.
[email protected]