The UK's private sector accounted for more than a third of all reported data breaches over 11 months, but less than 1% of the resulting fines, according to a Freedom of Information request. The data was issued by the Information Commissioner's Office after a request by satellite system-maker Viasat.

It shows five fines totalling £790,000 were imposed on the public sector and one £1,000 penalty on a private firm. The ICO said that it could only impose fines if strict criteria had been met.

The release covered self-reported personal data security breaches between 22 March 2011 and 17 February 2012. Over this period the ICO said 730 events had been flagged up as being potentially liable to a penalty or other action.

The private sector reported 263 cases, while 467 were reported by government and other public sector bodies.

Read the full article on the BBC News website.