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“Phishing messages sent to Red Cross blood donors” – Cyber attackers are trying to extract more sensitive data from the 1.3 million Red Cross data breach

Following ‘Australia’s largest data breach‘ where 550,000 Red Cross blood donors’ information was reportedly hacked, victims have found themselves to be at a potential risk of further hacking as criminals are reportedly attempting to steal patients’ details through a recent phishing scam.

These sorts of follow-up attacks are not uncommon – when people are at their most vulnerable after a cyber attack, it can be common for other hackers or criminals to jump on the situation to try and use the hack for further gains.
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“Largest data breach in Australian history” – 550,000 personal details of blood donors were accessed by an “unauthorised person”

You may have seen the recent news coverage of the huge data breach in Australia involving the Australian Red Cross Blood Service.

It seems they’re the next organisation to face a gruelling investigation into how 550,000 of their patients’ details were accessed by an “unauthorised person”. It has been described as Australia’s largest data breach to date, and it’s a real concern, as most data breaches are.
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“BBC reports 169 data breaches” – 10,000 customers’ data lost over a decade

Recent reports show that BBC has allegedly breached 10,000 of their customers’ personal data over the period of almost a decade.

Over the 10 year period it was reported that there were 169 data breaches, according to a Freedom of Information Act request. The personal information that seems to have been lost includes partial bank details, mobile numbers, addresses, and signatures through TV licensing fee accounts.

All very worrying…
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“Personal Devices Used as a Weapon to Hack” – DDoS attacks on DNS service provider, Dyn, led to many users losing internet connection recently

Millions of personal devices connected to the internet were used as a weapon to assist the cyber attacks that happened on Friday 21st October.

The tools assisted the cyber hackers to launch a huge DDoS cyber attack against major websites – the target of the attack being a DNS service provider, Dyn, based in New Hampshire, U.S.

It was a huge attack.
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“Data breach fines that could dismantle a company” – The Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council imposes a new EU regulation that could impose £122 billion worth of data breach fines on U.K. companies, taking effect in 2018

As cyber-attacks are on a continual upward trend, so is the need for real and robust data protection.

This is shown in the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council’s (PCI SSC) statement where new penalties are to be enforced under EU data protection regulations for data breaches. Any financial penalty should scare any organisation from potential data breaches until the end of times!

The figures are staggering!

It’s reported that UK companies could face up to £122 billion in fines if they violate data protection principles, which is a lot of money.
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“Did Weebly do enough to fend off the hackers?” – Weebly and Foursquare in a potential breach of their customers’ personal information

In the string of data breaches this decade has given rise to, website builder Weebly are next in line.

It’s thought that 43 million users’ personal details were leaked as part of a massive breach. I can say with certainty that this will not be the end of data breaches, as many companies and organisations lack the security and protection needed to fend off the cyber-criminals of today. However, it is not enough for companies to be reactive; they need to be proactive to ensure the safety of our personal data.

Especially a company like Weebly who are handling websites for people and businesses around the world!
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“Medical records are the new hot commodity” – The scale of healthcare hacks are massive, with some 10 million medical records reportedly for sale on the ‘dark web’

10 million medical records for sale on the so-called ‘dark web’ – that is frightening!!!

The scale of healthcare hacks seems to be on the rise, and it does not show any signs of slowing down at the moment.

This is a massive threat to data protection and privacy. Earlier this year, there was a record of 10 million medical records apparently for sale on the ‘dark web’ that were reportedly stolen from a big U.S. insurance company.
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“Big Brother Style Surveillance” – Yahoo allegedly handing over emails to U.S. Intelligence Officials

In the midst of ongoing cyber hacks that have seen information from millions of accounts from all sorts of services leaked online, Yahoo are alleged to have conceded to U.S. Intelligence Agency’s demands to search through customers’ email accounts for information.

This claim comes from the scandal that erupted last year, when Yahoo was found to be in breach of data protection rights when 500 million user accounts were illegally accessed. If found to be true, it is argued that Yahoo could be in serious breach of data protection rights, and may consequently face big penalties.
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“Security Breach that Cost TalkTalk £400k” – The major telecom company fined for the lack of security protection of customer accounts

Can you put a figure on stolen data? You can in terms of fines and compensation payouts.

Major U.K. telecom company TalkTalk has been fined £400,000 for the cyber-attack which happened in October last year. Up to 4 million customer details were thought to have been accessed, but it was later confirmed that around 157,000 accounts were directly accessed in the breach.
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“The state who funds hackers” – Rumours of hackers who were sponsored by the state to hack Yahoo accounts

More than half a billion Yahoo user accounts were hacked in 2014. The hack is the latest of the recent big hacking scandals, like Last.fm in March 2012, dating websites Ashley Madison and Beautiful People, and a whole host of others.

However, the popular email server’s hack is thought to be the ‘largest internet theft on record’ (source). The personal data that was hacked included the names, email addresses, telephone numbers, dates of births, and passwords of affected users. What is more concerning is the suggestion of a “state-sponsored actor” being behind the cyber theft. Intelligent agencies across the globe are investigating the matter.
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