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Fury over huge data protection breach involving child sexual abuse case files

Hundreds of confidential files have been found abandoned in a former office that had recently been vacated by the organisation Change, Grow, Live (CGL).

The entirely avoidable data leak included highly-sensitive records and documents involving vulnerable adults and children; i.e. confidential data that should be completely secure and never left open to being accessed without appropriate authority.

According to reports, files had literally been left behind after CGL vacated the premises.
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The Lead Experts Limited fined £70,000.00 for 100,000 nuisance calls

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) issued The Lead Experts Limited (TLEL) a £70,000.00 fine for reportedly making 111,072 unwanted nuisance calls.

TLEL violated data protection principles and the Privacy and Electronic Correspondence Regulations (PECR) when it failed to obtain real and proper consent from the people they had bombarded with nuisance calls, asking if they wanted to reduce their energy bills.

Today, direct marketing is easier than ever. Making calls to tens of thousands of people is incredibly feasible, and it doesn’t cost a lot to do it.
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NHS outsourcing and the dangers of data breaches

The NHS budget is a hotly-debated topic. Cuts, cuts and more cuts have led to some services being squeezed beyond measure, and the obvious truth is that cost-cutting can directly lead to increased chances of mistakes.

Last year, one huge case of cost-cutting seemingly led to a monumental data breach scenario and millions of pounds being paid to pick up the pieces. In 2017 it was revealed that more than 500,000 pieces of patient information in the five year period between 2011 and 2016 had been lost as a result of outsourcing. Such sensitive data being lost is a huge issue.
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When 246,000 U.S. Department of Homeland Security Employees’ details are found on a home computer, it’s time to question data security

The U.S. reported a discovery of 246,000 sensitive personal records belonging to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) employees on a home computer owned by an employee. The department and its employees have a vital mission to “secure the nation from the many threats” the U.S faces.

One can only wonder if they ever suspect their own colleague to be a major security threat to their personal lives…

This, let’s face it, is the kind of thing we do not want to hear about. Although this story hails from across the pond, we’ve had our own issues of a similar nature of course. The Heathrow USB stick incident springs to mind.
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South African data breach compromises 30 million personal records

Creator and founder of HaveIBeenPwned.com, Troy Hunt, discovered yet another data dump last year. This one reportedly contained personal data belonging to millions in this staggering South African data breach.

At the time of discovery, the information was available from an online public database back-up file and even came with a smaller compressed version. Anyone on the site could download the information.
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Malaysia sees colossal data breach that may have affected entire population

Technology website Lowyat.net reportedly discovered a huge Malaysian data breach that saw millions of people have their personal data stolen and leaked on the dark web.

The information was apparently taken from multiple Malaysian mobile phone operators, as well as the Malaysian public sector and commercial company websites.

With over 46 million confirmed records breached, this is one monumental data incident.
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ICO issues True Telecom fine of £85,000.00 and an enforcement notice for nuisance calls

Based in Dartford, True Telecom Limited has been fined by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for illegally calling people to advertise their services.

The Telephone Preference Service (TPS) reported a number of complaints from individuals who received calls from True Telecom despite being signed up to TPS to specifically let organisations know not to contact them for direct marketing purposes. Organisations who call people to advertise their products and services must first receive consent before they do so.
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Cloud storage error compromises almost 50,000 records belonging to government and major company employees

Australia was recently hit by a huge data breach when a misconfiguration of a cloud storage system reportedly compromised some 50,000 employee records.

This is thought to be the second largest data breach in Australian history.

A number of employee records were compromised for several government departments, including 3,000 from the Department of Finance; 1,470 from the Australian Electoral Commission; and 300 from the National Disability Insurance Agency.
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The Swedish data breach attack and fraud trial

Swedish prosecutors initiated a huge trial after a number of private and public organisations were hacked. Eight people are reportedly standing on trial for the criminal charges that saw at least 40 million Swedish kronor (£3.6 million) stolen or mishandled.

If convicted, the alleged perpetrators could face eight years in jail for their criminal conduct. The exact number of victims has not been confirmed.

The criminal hacker group reportedly hijacked computers and set up social engineering attacks to steal money from a number of organisations and individuals. The Swedish Prison and Probation Service was hit by a breach, along with 20 companies, four banks, a number of law firms, and private individuals also.
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Whole Foods Market hacked, reportedly compromising customer credit card data

Supermarket chain Whole Foods Market Inc has admitted that the company suffered a major data breach through its payment card systems.

In an announcement, they revealed the breach happened through their ‘taprooms’ and full table-service restaurants inside some 40% of their stores, rather than through its checkout services.

This is significant as the company uses a separate payment system for its bars and restaurant to its grocery checkout stations, with most of their customers using the latter. Any breach involving card and banking information is, of course, incredibly serious.
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