ICO slaps TalkTalk’s wrist for malware URL scanning

Internet Service Provider TalkTalk has got into trouble with the ICO for failing to inform both the office and its own customer base that it was conducting anti-malware trials.

The ISP was scanning the URLs its customers were visiting to hone a service which is designed to alert TalkTalk users of when they’re about to surf to a dodgy website.

However, TalkTalk didn’t notify its customers that it was sifting through the sites they were visiting. The ISP didn’t believe it had to do so, given that it wasn’t tracking which customers accessed what site, it was merely examining the list of visited sites as a whole. Of course, some URLs can contain information relating to an individual themselves.

The ICO was unimpressed that TalkTalk had been conducting this trial on the quiet. Information Commissioner Christopher Graham wrote in a letter to the ISP: “In the light of the public reaction to BT‘s trial of the proposed Webwise service I am disappointed to note that this particular trial was not mentioned to my officials during the latest of our liaison meetings.”

Furthermore, he said: “I am concerned that the trial was undertaken without first informing those affected that it was taking place.”

Whether TalkTalk will get anything other than a slap on the wrist seems unlikely. The ISP is planning on rolling out these anti-malware measures later this year.