40 minutes · free · certificate valid 1 year

Data Breach Response Basics

Learn what counts as a personal data breach under UK GDPR, what to do in the first minutes and hours, how breaches are assessed and when the ICO and affected individuals must be notified, and how organisations learn from incidents to prevent the next one. Finish the final assessment with a score of 75% or higher to earn a certificate, valid for one year.

Done this course before, or already know the material? You can go straight to the final assessment and renew your certificate without re-reading the lessons.

Who it's for: Anyone in a UK organisation who handles personal data and could be the first to spot, cause, or report a data breach, whatever their role or seniority.

What you'll learn

• Explain what counts as a personal data breach under UK GDPR, including confidentiality, integrity, and availability breaches.
• Spot the everyday incidents and near misses that must be reported internally, and report them immediately.
• Apply the right first-response steps: report, contain, preserve evidence, and record the facts.
• Describe when the ICO must be notified within 72 hours, and when affected individuals must also be told.
• Recognise how root cause analysis and a no-blame reporting culture prevent the next breach.

What you'll cover

1. 1

   What counts as a breach

   The UK GDPR definition of a personal data breach, the three types of breach, and how to recognise one in everyday situations.

2. 2

   First response

   What to do in the first minutes: report immediately, contain the damage, preserve evidence, and record what happened.

3. 3

   Assessing and notifying

   How breach risk is assessed, the 72-hour ICO notification clock, when individuals must be told, and the breach register.

4. 4

   Learning and prevention

   Root cause analysis, fixing the causes rather than blaming people, testing your response, and supporting those affected.

5. 5

   Putting it into practice

   Short workplace scenarios that test how you would apply this course in real situations.

6. 6

   Final assessment

   20 questions drawn at random from the full question bank. Score 75% or higher to earn your certificate.