The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has admitted that there were three cases of data breaches in 2020 in response to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request submitted by International Investment's sister title Professional Adviser.

The regulator disclosed that there were three separate incidences where data was accidentally made available to the public or people who should not be able to access that information.

PA asked what those breaches were in relation to, but the FCA said it was unable to reveal that information.

In February last year, the FCA confessed to another data breach that saw confidential information accidentally made publicly available.

It is unclear whether this data breach is included in the three the FCA admitted to above.

In May, the financial watchdog said it had sent 4,430 of its employees on compulsory cybercrime and information security courses over the past two financial years.

That information, obtained under a different FOI request by The Parliament Street think tank, revealed the threat posed by financial cybercrime and the potential shortcoming in cybersecurity skills among FCA employees.

The FCA said that, as well as the ‘Cyber and Information Security' e-learning course, which is compulsory for all staffers to complete, 217 participants were also enrolled on locally organised security courses for more advanced training.

First published by our sister title Professional Adviser