Handling Data Breaches Workshop, 12 November 2026, 10:00 to 12:00, Central Birmingham
Effective breach management is not simply about deciding whether to notify the ICO. It is about responding quickly, protecting affected people and producing a clear, evidence-based record of what the organisation knew, decided and did.
Every organisation wants to avoid data breaches, but few have a reasoned sensible plan in place to tackle them if they do. Most data breaches are learning opportunities that, if handled well, can provide reassurance and improve rather than weaken trust. The key therefore is how you respond. You need a plan.
This workshop will ensure you understand data breaches in all their forms, and have a plan ready to go if one occurs. You will learn how to identify breaches speedily, act promptly, and provide assurance to all involved about harm reduction and preventing recurrence. You will be able to reduce risk and develop practical breach handling systems to improve resilience, emerging from data breaches better and stronger.
Who Should Attend?
This practical workshop is suitable for data protection, information governance, HR, IT, risk and compliance professionals, as well as operational managers who may be responsible for responding to personal data breaches. It will be particularly valuable for people who understand the basic principles of data protection but want greater confidence in investigating incidents, assessing risks and making defensible notification decisions. No specialist technical or legal knowledge is required.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this workshop attendees will be able to:
- recognise when a security incident is also a personal data breach;
- take appropriate immediate containment and escalation action;
- gather the information needed to investigate the incident;
- assess the likelihood and severity of harm to individuals;
- decide whether the ICO and affected individuals must be notified;
- document and justify their decisions;
- communicate effectively with relevant stakeholders; and
- identify actions needed to prevent recurrence.
Structure
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10:00–10:05
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Welcome and orientation
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Introductions, learning outcomes and explanation of the workshop format.
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10:05–10:15
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Is it a personal data breach?
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Distinguishing security incidents, near misses and personal data breaches.
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10:15–10:30
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The essentials
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Concise explanation of responsibilities, controller and processor roles, awareness, the 72-hour deadline, notification thresholds and documentation requirements.
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10:30–10:45
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The breach-response process
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Walk through a repeatable process: report, contain, establish facts, assess risk, decide, notify, recover, record and learn.
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10:45–11:10
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Main breach simulation
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Small groups respond to an evolving breach. Give them information in stages so they must determine priorities and revise their assessment as new facts emerge.
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11:10–11:20
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Reporting and communication decisions
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Groups decide whether to notify the ICO, affected individuals or other organisations, and identify what those communications should contain.
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11:20–11:27
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Learning and prevention
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Root-cause analysis, corrective action, accountability and distinguishing individual error from wider control weaknesses.
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11:27–11:30
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Action planning and close
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Participants identify three improvements they will make to their organisation’s breach arrangements.
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11:30 onward
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Q&A clinic
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Questions about principles and anonymised scenarios.
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Post Workshop
Attendees will receive
- workshop materials
- an editable Data Breach Response Toolkit
- a step by step breach management timeline
- a breach log recording template
- a root cause analysis template
Book Your Place
Places are limited so book your place now to avoid disappointment. If you change your mind you can have a full refund up to 24 hours before the event.
- £49 including VAT,
- £29 for Newsletter subscribers
- Free to past course attendees