The majority of cases arose as a result of correspondence being sent to the wrong recipient.
The Irish Data Protection Commissioner received over 7,000 data breach reports in 2024, an 11 percent increase year-on-year.
According to its 2024 annual report, of the 71781 notifications received, 7,346 were GDPR notifications and since the introduction of the GDPR - and in line with previous years - the highest category of data breaches notified to the DPC in 2024 related to unauthorised disclosures in incidents affecting single individuals or small groups, accounting for sixty percent of total notifications.
Also, fifty per cent of notified cases arose as a result of correspondence being sent to the wrong recipient.
During the year, the commissioner issued 11 finalised inquiry decisions resulting in administrative fines totalling €652 million during 2024. The DPC received 11,091 new cases from individuals in 2024 and concluded 10,510 cases.
Dr Des Hogan, chairperson, commissioner for data protection, said: “The protection of our personal data is more important than ever as our daily transactions now routinely occur through technologies.
“The DPC’s wide range of activities during the last year points to how fair, consistent regulation can lead to individuals across Europe trusting that their personal data is being used in a lawful and safe manner and that they have control over their data.”
Written by
Dan Raywood is a B2B journalist with 25 years of experience, including covering cybersecurity for the past 17 years. He has extensively covered topics from Advanced Persistent Threats and nation-state hackers to major data breaches and regulatory changes.
He has spoken at events including 44CON, Infosecurity Europe, RANT Forum, BSides Scotland, Steelcon and the National Cyber Security Show, and served as editor of SC Media UK, Infosecurity Magazine and IT Security Guru. He was also an analyst with 451 Research and a product marketing lead at Tenable.
