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Are companies prepared enough to respond to a data hacks and breaches?

Though most organisations have cyber-security systems in place, the effectiveness of preventing potential incidents is highly questionable.

It seems the media is portraying how companies are becoming increasingly less prepared in the event of a cyber-attack. For the most part, their cyber-security seems to be reactive rather than proactive. However, this theory may not be completely unfounded as the Global CISO study shows that 78% of Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) are worried about their ability to detect breaches in the first place.
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What legal basis did the Met Police have for disclosing 30,000 addresses?

In early May, the Metropolitan Police were accused of a ‘severe’ security breach when they disclosed 30,000 addresses of shotgun and firearm owners to a direct mail marketing agency, “Yes Direct Mail”.

The British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) has now demanded an answer from the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Cressida Dick, to clarify what legal basis they had for passing on the addresses of so many firearm and shotgun owners. Namely: under the Data Protection Act (DPA) and any wider guidelines surrounding privacy and marketing.
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GP surgeries were on the brink of meltdown following the NHS cyber-attacks

Following on from the WannaCry attack, there were fears that the cyber-attack could continue to have disastrous consequences for healthcare organisations like GP surgeries.

There was extreme concern after the NHS cyber-attack as to exactly how many GP surgeries were directly affected, and health officials were concerned how computer systems would manage when they reopened after the attack.
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Verizon finds that one in ten data breaches went undetected last year

After a year filled with data breaches left right and centre, the reports containing breach statistics are enough to make anyone feel uneasy.

The American TV phone and internet provider Verizon instructed their security research division to look into 2,260 breaches reported by various organisations and companies. Having seen data breaches take a centre spotlight in the news throughout 2016, the results don’t surprise us; but they are nonetheless worrying…
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Salaries of 240 staff affected in the 2015 Plymouth University Data Breach resurfaces

There has been a serious breach at Plymouth University which has seen more than 200 staff members’ salaries leaked.

An investigation, undertaken by Plymouth University solicitors, is well under way. It transpires that a confidential spreadsheet noting 240 senior staff members’ salaries was erroneously sent to an incorrect email address in June 2015.
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Tremendous cyber-attack affects almost a hundred countries over the world

One of the worst cyber-attacks this year!

The U.K. was subject to a horrific mass cyber-attack in May 2017 that ground several health providers to a halt.

Chaos and frenzied panic set in when GP surgeries and hospital screens were locked with a ransom demand. Hackers had managed to infiltrate network systems with malicious ransomware, preventing access to records unless the user paid $300 (£240) worth of Bitcoins into a provided account.
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Starbucks customers are still victims of data breaches two years on from first cyber-hack

More and more purchases are being made through non-traditional methods, like mobile apps. However, concerns remain about the security of these methods as we continue to see data breaches hit the news on an almost daily basis.

Large numbers of Starbucks’ customers have reported their accounts being hacked, which was reportedly from an attack dating back to 2015. Some say they’ve had money tapped from their accounts on the mobile app, and according to USA TODAY, the cyber-hackers used a ‘clever new attack’ without actually hacking Starbucks itself.
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Patients’ medical records still in the spotlight when it comes to data breaches

Healthcare data breaches continue to rise

Whilst an overwhelming amount of data breaches occur due to human error – like sending an email to the wrong recipient, or failing to hide multiple recipients’ identities from each other – ransomware of healthcare records are on a rapid climb.

In a report conducted by the Breach Industry Forecast, patient data is one of the most valuable types of information to cyber criminals. Hospitals and other healthcare organisations usually keep masses of patient data in digital databases, and these are far from secure it seems.
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Dating website Guardian Soulmates data breach

Following on from the several big recent hacking scandals where million of users’ personal details have been compromised, Guardian Soulmates – a dating service provided by The Guardian newspaper – are the latest victim of a cyber-hack.

Users of the dating website reportedly received sexually explicit emails following on from the hack. Soulmates usernames and email addresses were exposed by an unknown third-party service provider, according to Guardian News and Media (GNM).
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InterContinental Hotel Group reveals thousands of guests had their credit card details stolen

Owners of Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza suffer huge cyber attack

The giant hoteliers InterContinental Hotel Group (IHG) have issued their worrisome findings after conducting an internal investigation into their hotels.

The huge company – owners of popular hotel chains Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza – began their investigation when malicious software was detected on their front desk systems late last year. Whilst the breach into their systems were detected as early as 29 September 2016, traces of the malware is suspected to have remained until March of this year.
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