And the evidence seems to back that standpoint up. In the year after the widely reported case of HM Revenue and Customs losing the data of 25 million people back in 2007, a further 277 data breaches were reported to the ICO.
Last year, McAfee pegged global losses caused by security breaches in 2008 at $1 trillion.
From April it will also be given the power to serve an enforcement notice, and prosecute those involved in the unlawful trade in confidential personal data.
It has already produced a draft on exactly when a monetary penalty will be imposed and the methods it will use to determine the amount, the next step towards the proposals being confirmed.
However, it won't be able to impose a penalty based solely on information gathered during the new mandatory assessment system set to be imposed on government departments in April.
