Council requested card payments via email

A London council’s data protection efforts are under review after it asked residents to email in their payment card details for parking bay suspensions via a Word document.

Islington Council had requested residents to share the security code from the rear of their cards, as well as their address, among other details.

One security expert stated this appeared to be a breach of the payment card industry’s security rules.

Hence, the system has now been postponed.

“We have begun an internal investigation into the process of applying for and paying for parking bay suspensions,” a spokeswoman for the local authority told the BBC.

“In the short term, we have removed that form from our website.”

The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) also introduced a legal requirement that “appropriate technical” measures be taken by organisations when handling such details.

“All organisations processing personal data have a responsibility to do so safely and securely,” commented a spokesman for the Information Commissioner’s Office.