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Morrisons fined £10,500 for breaching data privacy rights

The 4^th largest supermarket chain in the U.K. has been fined by the Information Commissioner’s Office (‘ICO’) for breaking data protection laws in regards to how personal information is being used when sending marketing emails.

The ICO undertook an investigation into the supermarket chain after allegations were made by an individual that WM Morrison Supermarkets PLC (‘Morrisons’) were sending emails that customers had previously opted out of.

The Commissioner wrote to Morrisons on 28^th November 2016 notifying them of the complaint made against them.
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AA fails to notify their customers of data breach

Further to the AA data breach that occurred on 22^nd April 2017, there’s been further backlash as AA reportedly failed to notify customers of the breach.

The personal information that was breached related to customers of the AA’s online shop, operated by a third party, which sells maps, car accessories and other products to retailers and individuals.

Due to a server malfunction, personal data stored on two database backup files was accessible to the public.
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Government digital service department leaks personal information

Many people may have a false sense of security that the Government are able to protect us and our data. Over the years, this belief has decreased massively given there are growing trends of data breaches, with hacks and leaks scarily becoming the norm.

This is exemplified in the Government’s digital service website – www.data.gov.uk – who recently fell victim to a security breach. A spokeswoman said that a database containing usernames and email addresses was discovered on a system which was accessible to the public. This was only discovered during a routine security review.

So, if the government can’t protect themselves, how can we expect them to protect us?!
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Health insurance company in the U.S. pays out a record $115 million after millions had personal data hacked

The U.S.’s second largest health insurance company, Anthem Inc, has agreed to pay out a record-breaking settlement over a huge data breach from two years ago.

Around 79 million people had their personal information compromised during the hack, and it’s safe to say Anthem are paying for their mistakes given the settlement. Data breach victims include current and former clients, and it’s thought that lawyers will need to sift through a lot of information to pinpoint exactly who was affected, how much data was compromised, and the impact the breach had on them.
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Growth in settlements for data breaches

Data protection laws around the world have allowed victims of serious data breaches to claim the compensation they rightfully deserve. As the number of data breaches seems to continually be on the rise, we’re seeing some huge settlements for breaches amongst cases where data has potentially been exposed forever.

The growth in data breach settlements may well continue to rise as well unless organsations get the vital grip they need on securing their servers and protecting the data they hold.
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Royal Free NHS Foundation Trust who shared 1.6million patient information in a clinical tech trial escapes fine from the ICO

Royal Free NHS Foundation Trust who shared the data of 1.6 million patients has escaped a fine from the UK’s information watchdog… The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

The Trust has instead signed an undertaking with the ICO to take certain action in order to ensure data protection rules are complied with in future. The Trust were reportedly using Google DeepMind on a clinical trial when the personal information of 1.6 million patients was shared as part of the clinical trials projects.
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Inquiry launched over University of East Anglia data leak blunder

The University of East Anglia (UEA) are facing an investigation over the shocking data breach that saw a number of students have their personal circumstances emailed directly to hundreds of fellow course mates.

The document listed extenuating circumstances of a number of students explaining why certain students were authorised to have an extension on assignments, postpone exams and take time off their course.

Some of the reasons included death or a family member, personal medical and mental health issues, and even sexual assault.
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Healthcare sector takes the number one spot for the sector with the most data breaches in the U.K.

Some might wonder why banking isn’t at the top. Surely, that’s where the big bucks are at?

But if you’ve been keeping up with our blogs, you’ll know that healthcare is not only a bigger target, but also one that can be easier for breaches to occur. It’s no secret that our National Health Service is struggling under immense pressure with increased patient numbers, continual budgets cuts, and “overworked and underpaid” staff.

With these financial struggles comes the inability to afford top quality cyber security and updated operating systems; leaving the healthcare system wide open to breaches and attacks.
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FTC prove that cyber-hackers can access and use breached data within 9 minutes of it being posted

I’m sure many are curious to find out where and how their data is used after hackers gain access to their information. According to a recent study, hackers are reportedly able to use leaked data within 9 minutes of it being posted.

Mr Salsburg, chief counsel and acting chief of research and investigation project at the FTC (Federal Trade Commission), reiterated the mysteriousness of what happens to data when it’s publicised:

“…there’s a real mystery of what happens to consumer data when it becomes public.”

But the dangers of how quickly it can be used are evident.
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Data leaks caused by mobile phone devices

Many people forget the associated risks that portable digital devices come with. Many may have a false sense of security that computers are the main source of data breaches, but some may be quick to disregard mobile phones as a huge danger for leaking data.

Security researchers note the increased dangers of data leaks as more employees bring their own devices to work. If employees bring their own devices to the workplace, you can count this as an additional avenue for a breach to happen. Mobile devices are easily connected and employees are often allowed to connect mobile devices to their work servers to assist when working in or outside of the office.

You can see it either as another door for a data breach to happen or an opportunity to get inside as the door has been left open or is now weak enough to break in to…
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