We focus on the latest news surrounding data breaches, leaks and hacks plus daily internet security articles.
There has been a prosecution for a worrying Nuneaton and Bedworth Council data breach that’s an example of how employees can exploit the data they can access.
In this incident, former head of building control at the council, Kevin Bunsell, shared personal information about job applications with his partner. His partner had applied for the same job that the candidates whose data was shared had applied for, and she won the position.
Although we can only speculate as to the motives, we can assume that the reasons for sharing the data were to assist his partner in securing the position which she was eventually awarded.
We may see a Marriott GDPR fine applied after the monumental breach that was discovered last year, given the volume of people affected and the nature of the breach.
As many as 500 million people were affected, with data said to have been compromised between 2014 and 2018. An unauthorised third-party is said to have accessed the guest reservation table fore the Startword division of the company. Data exposed in the breach included a lot of personal and account data.
The breach lapses over GDPR coming into force in May 2018. That means that the ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office) could issue a fine that equates to 4% of the Marriott’s global annual turnover.
There has been a spate of Gateshead Council data breach incidents since the introduction of the new GDPR data rules that came into force in May 2018.
A number of breaches have been reported, some of which have been referred to the UK’s data watchdog; the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
The numerous breaches reportedly include personal and medical data being uploaded online and data sent to the wrong recipients. These kinds of incidents can be common, and we represent a lot of people who claim for council data breach compensation. News of the recent spate of Gateshead Council data breach incidents is a concern, but doesn’t come as a surprise to us.
The dangers of the Quora data breach cannot be understated, especially when the incident reportedly affected up to 100m users!
Just yesterday we wrote about the issue of reusing passwords and user credentials across multiple sites. Doing so can put you at far greater risks than you may even realise. One of the key things it means is that your credentials breached in an attack could be used to break into other platforms you use. Facebook is a prime example with billions of users and a feature that lets you log into other platforms using your Facebook credentials.
On that basis, the dangers of an incident like this Quora one simply cannot be understated.
Thousands of people have contacted us for help with data breach claims. Victims can be entitled to make a claim for compensation. The risks of reusing passwords is one of the first things people may need to consider.
The advice is to never reuse the same passwords and user credentials across different platforms. Despite this, people still do it. It means that being the victim of one simple breach could lead to several accounts being accessed. In fact, it could even mean those credentials are used to hack into a business you are employed with.
There’s a great deal that many people may not consider when it comes to reusing passwords and usernames. The mindset needs to change!
There has been another Wokingham Borough Council data breach that comes just weeks after the ongoing news covering the serious sex abuse victim data leak.
In this latest breach, a resident’s benefit payment information has reportedly been leaked by accident in the post. It appears that it’s another case of human error.
What’s just as worrying is that a recent report appears to have identified that the council has suffered five data breaches in the last year. This latest incident has also hit the news just after the recent apologies over the serious sexual abuse victim breach we previously covered.
An issue that has led to a number of NHS fax data breach incidents has been reported, after mix-ups with a similar fax number has led to information going astray.
NHS data breach compensation cases are some of the more common types of claims our expert team help people with. A lot of the data breaches are caused by such simple errors that can be easily avoided. Despite this, they happen way too frequently.
The news of the fax mix ups is another example of this and comes to light after the accidental recipients of the data contacted NHS England about the incidents.
The NHS fax data breach issue reportedly stems from GP surgeries and pharmacies accidentally sending data to the wrong number. The number they have been sending information to in some cases belongs to a hotel group who has then been receiving the faxes incorrectly.
Some of the data that has been sent to the wrong fax number includes medication requests, certificates and dispensing vouchers.
It’s understood that the fax number for the hotel group is similar to the ones used to send information within the healthcare system. The hotel group has notified the Corporate Information Governance Team for NHS England.
As a result of these NHS fax data breach issues, NHS England has reportedly reminded GP surgeries and pharmacies about the importance of checking numbers. As some have recently called for a move away from faxes and pagers within the NHS, it’s claimed that this fax system is apparently the only way of sending this data within the healthcare system.
It sounds like something needs to change.
Any medical data breach can cause a huge amount of distress to the victims. When we see these simple errors over incredibly personal and sensitive data, it’s clear to us that more needs to be done.
As a firm of lawyers who specialise in data leak cases, we know how bad a breach can be for the victim. It’s important for these simple and avoidable data breaches are stamped out.
We can help you make a claim for compensation as a victim of the massive Marriott data leak. Here’s a little about the latest since news broke of the incident.
OK, so we have some 500 million customers across the world who are potentially affected by the leak. The leak stems from a breach of their Starwood reservation systems since 2014 and has resulted in a wealth of data being exposed. As well as personal information, account details and bank card information has also been exposed.
Marriott has taken a number of steps in the aftermath of the breach, and legal actions have been initiated.
The Coffee Meets Bagel data breach was unfortunately revealed on Valentine’s Day. I.e. a dating app revealed a breach on the day of love and romance…
With the data breach reportedly having happened on 11th February 2019, I suppose its just a case of bad timing that notifications ended up being on Valentine’s Day. Either way, the American-based dating service that is used in the UK has suffered a breach.
This isn’t the first dating website that has been targeted for a data breach. We doubt it will be the last as well.
Warnings have been issued over a 2017 Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council data breach incident that was said to have been particularly sensitive.
The warnings have come from both the authority itself as well as the UK’s data watchdog, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
The incident took place before the introduction of last year’s vital GDPR. The incident still amounted to a serious data protection breach and could have led to criminal prosecutions and huge fines faced by the council.
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