Although no formal incident has occurred, statements made by ex-employees have given rise to Amazon data breach concerns. Describing the attitudes to personal data, one of the former employees, who previously held high-profile positions, reportedly noted that Amazon is unaware if it is protecting information correctly. The coverage suggested that Amazon does not have a handle on the huge quantities of data it has aggregated, which is a worrying thought given the company’s status as one of the largest businesses in the world.
The insider perspectives provide no confirmation of breaches of data protection law, but it is nevertheless worrying to think that the concerns of security experts were reportedly dismissed during time spent at Amazon. As a leading international e-commerce company, million of users visit Amazon sites all the time.
Holding millions of customers’ information, the data protection responsibilities of Amazon are monumental. As such, if a breach were to occur, the effects could be devastating. As leading specialists in data breach claims, we want to see that all companies are taking their duties seriously, as we know how serious the repercussions can be for victims who have their information exposed.
Former security employees raise Amazon data breach concerns
Two former US-based employees of Amazon who chose to remain anonymous reportedly suggested that Amazon is not too knowledgeable of exactly what data is in its possession, as well as where it is stored and who precisely has access to it. Among the Amazon data breach concerns it was highlighted that, in hundreds of cases, employees who had left the company still reportedly had access to its systems. It was also suggested that Amazon had access to strong data security tools, but that it was allegedly not applying them effectively, with many vulnerabilities not being corrected.
An EU-based employee additionally suggested that the security team were undermined and starved of resources. The company has unsurprisingly rejected all the Amazon data breach concerns as baseless claims.
When companies put data at risk
There is currently no evidence that customer data is at risk, but the Amazon data breach concerns are still significant enough to cause worry among Amazon’s users. No formal investigations into the company’s information protection practices have been undertaken.
If companies put information at risk, they may be in breach of data protection law, and could be subjected to penalties and compensation claims. We aim to support data breach victims to recover compensation for any distress suffered as a result of a data breach, as well as the financial losses and expenses caused. It is important to us that companies are held accountable for breaches of the GDPR to ensure that they are dissuaded from acting in the same way again.
Claiming with Data Leak Lawyers
As leading specialists in data breach claims, we have helped many victims to achieve the justice they deserve in both individual and group action claims. In some of our ongoing group actions, we are seeking to hold Virgin Media, British Airways and Equifax to account for their monumental data breaches.
Anyone who has suffered as a result of having their data exposed can contact us for free, no-obligation advice on their potential claim.