We focus on the latest news surrounding data breaches, leaks and hacks plus daily internet security articles.
Former GP Dr Thair Altaii was found guilty of voyeurism at Newcastle Crown Court earlier this year. Over 19,000 images of women were found in his possession.
The 55-year-old former “trusted family doctor” was caught with the images and video footage after a patient raised concerns about being recorded. During her appointment, she’d noticed two mobile phones propped up; one facing a chair, and the other facing the examination table. Police were informed, and after Dr Altaii initially denied having any such material in his possession after arrest, a shocking discovery was later found when his laptop was seized.
Here, we’ll look at this in terms of legal advice for a data protection claim.
Earlier this month, an apology was issued over the Southwark Council data leak, and the matter was brought to the attention of regulators.
The personal information of around 20 people was accidentally leaked as part of a Freedom of Information request. The request had asked for correspondence between council officials and Delancey, an asset management company.
The personal information had not been redacted, resulting in the leak. The Information Commissioner’s office (ICO) has been informed.
The Cornwall Council data breach was yet another email blunder where addresses and personal information was not masked in a mailshot
In the breach, an email about disabled children was sent to over 150 people relating to their max card scheme. The max card scheme is a scheme for discounts for foster families and families with disabled children.
In yet another email breach, the personal data and email addresses in the mailshot were exposed. Neither the BCC function or a mailing platform had been used to avoid the data breach. It may attract a GDPR-style fine given it took place after the new rules came into force.
If you’ve been affected by the recent Npower data breach, we can help with legal advice and compensation representation.
Npower sent out some 5,000 letters addressed to customers with solar panels. However, the letters contained the details for other customers as opposed to the information for the addressee. Some contained additional sheets containing further information for more customers.
Npower has apologised for the breach, which has been referred to the ICO (Information Commissioner’s office).
The Ceredigion Council data breach showed the severity of a council data breach. Councils and local authorities hold a lot of personal and sensitive data about us.
Unfortunately, the Welsh council failed to uphold their important security responsibilities. It was discovered (a few weeks ago) that names, addresses and information about medical conditions was exposed on their website. The personal and sensitive documents had been left on the website and were accessible to anyone for 11 years, since 2007.
This is a serious data breach. Anyone affected can approach our legal team for advice today.
A former manager has reportedly pleaded guilty over charges being pressed arising from the Equifax cybersecurity incident of 2017.
We’re already representing a large number of victims as part of a group legal action we’re pursuing. Although the breach took place in 2017, and we have an established claimant group, it’s not too late to join the action.
A year on from the huge Equifax cybersecurity incident, we’re still only now seeing the results of investigations and criminal proceedings. The civil case for data breach compensation that we’re pursuing is also rolling on.
The Hastings Council data breach on the eve of the GDPR coming into force showed just how easy the human error element is.
The irony was that the breach involved an email being sent out with an opt-in or opt-out offer for compliance with the new GDPR. They sent the email on the eve of the new rules coming into force. It all seemed very sensible.
That was until it was realised that all the recipients’ information was visible to each other. Yes, that’s right. A GDPR information email was sent out that breached data protection rules itself. It was another simple case of avoidable human error.
We’ve said a few times now that the British Airways data hack was preventable. That’s why we launched our legal action for justice last month.
There are a number of reasons as to how it could have been prevented. Aside from the motivator of GDPR that should have triggered a mind-set of change, there were other warning sings too. The Ticketmaster data breach – carried out by the same attackers – sent a clear warning that, arguably, British Airways failed to take heed of. Before the British Airways data hack, we wrote about the targeting of payment systems and how we were just seeing the tip of the iceberg.
But there was also another major warning sign that British Airways appeared to not act on as well.
Airline data breach incidents is a hot topic right now off the back of the recent British Airways data breach. We recently launched a legal case as a result of the breach.
Airline data breach incidents can be incredibly serious. The amount of personal and sensitive data that an airline holds is substantial enough to cause serious distress and monetary loss. Victims affected by a breach like the British Airways hack can be entitled to compensation.
For advice, please contact the team or read on for more general guidance.
The Equifax ICO fine was welcome news, although victims may need clarity on their rights for compensation as well as understanding the fine itself.
The Equifax ICO fine was the maximum allowed under the rules that came before the GDPR. Had the incident have occurred in the post-GDPR era, Equifax could have faced fines amounting to millions.
The fine itself is separate to any compensation claim a victim is entitled to make. We launched our legal action last year and it’s not too late to join if you’ve yet to sign-up. Read on for more information about how the fine was issued as well as victims’ rights to compensation.
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