The Information Commissioner's Office has urged the government not to water-down penalties for those who unlawfully buy or sell personal data.

Richard Thomas, information commissioner, welcomed clause 76 of the criminal justice bill - currently before parliament - which will allow courts to impose a custodial sentence on those found guilty of such activities.

He also said the government should resist calls from people who want the element to be removed from the legislation.

The office has also issued a new set of guidelines for firms in order to help them deal with an accidental loss of data.

It said that companies should put in place an effective disaster recovery plan to make sure they can deal with any such situation as best they can.

Yesterday, Computerworld reported that firms must make sure their staff are fully aware of their disaster recovery plans in order for them to be carried out effectively.

New research from Connect found that, on average, it takes businesses that use backup tapes take 11.6 hours to retrieve and restore files. Connect is now recommending that SMEs switch to www.totalrecall.co.uk