We focus on the latest news surrounding data breaches, leaks and hacks plus daily internet security articles.
So, what happens when the Police are the ones who break the law and potentially cause harm to us?
Whenever there is trouble, the police are the first people we think of to call for help. They’re here to keep us safe, and we’re all very grateful for the work they do. They come to our aid when we need them. They put their lives and bodies on the line to keep the public safe. They put dangerous criminals behind bars to protect us.
Unfortunately, however, they have been known to breach our trust by leaking personal sensitive information…
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Data leaks can cause an absolute chasm of problems and, in reality, an unlimited amount of damage.
Personal information that’s been exposed can be used to create all sorts of damage and it may never end. The psychological effect can be hugely traumatic and distressing, so this type of damage can be very difficult to recover from. Monetary losses can be calculated in pounds and pence, but putting a figure on the cost of personal damage isn’t an easy science.
It can be done, though; and here are some of the highest recorded payouts.
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The gigantic Equifax data breach that saw 143 million U.S. customers have their sensitive credit information breached also affected 15.2 million U.K. records as well. There are thought to be some 700,000 U.K. victims of the breach who may have had their personal and sensitive information stolen.
Equifax has said they will reach out to victims by post to notify them of the data breach and offer free access to some form of data risk mitigation service.
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The U.S.’s second largest health insurance company, Anthem Inc, has agreed to pay out a record-breaking settlement over a huge data breach from two years ago.
Around 79 million people had their personal information compromised during the hack, and it’s safe to say Anthem are paying for their mistakes given the settlement. Data breach victims include current and former clients, and it’s thought that lawyers will need to sift through a lot of information to pinpoint exactly who was affected, how much data was compromised, and the impact the breach had on them.
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Six months ago in June of this year, the University of Greenwich found themselves in hot water when a student notified the BBC that a simple google search had revealed private and personal information accidentally uploaded by the University about numerous students.
Hundreds of post-graduate research students at the University were subject to this massive data leak, with a great deal of the information not only sensitive and private in nature, but also financially sensitive, leaving people open to the possibility of fraud.
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Last year in September, a sexual health clinic based in Soho, London, revealed almost 800 of their patients’ private information to each other by mistake – i.e. the other patients – when an email was sent to the list of people where the names and addresses for the other recipients were not hidden.
This has resulted in one of the biggest data breaches in the history of the NHS, and has led to us fighting for the rights of numerous people who have been affected by the breach.
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All members of the NHS have a duty to not disclose patient’s personal information. This is a part of the foundation of a patient/ doctor relationship. However, whilst most people believe their personal information is protected, data breaches by the NHS have been discovered to be more common than you think!
NHS data breaches can have serious consequences for the victims involved.
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The majority of UK companies have revealed that their data is not adequately protected against the risk of data breaches.
A recent survey revealed that nearly 70% of companies that took part feared their data would be at risk if their systems were breached.
Only 7% of respondents were confident that their data would be secure if a company’s security perimeter was breached. 97% of companies in the UK actually admitted that their systems were ineffective in protecting its data from hackers and any other unauthorised users.
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Research conducted by ResearchBods found that consumers put the responsibility for data leaks, breaches, and hacks firmly on the shoulders of the organisations.
The study results showed that people blame the organisations far more than the hackers, and in terms of how the law actually works, it’s fair to say that the legal responsibility does weigh heavily on organisation (as Data Controllers) anyway.
The excuse “oh, but we were hacked!” is not one that will save an organisation from criminal or civil prosecution!
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You may not know this but you are entitled to claim for data breach compensation if you are the victim of a data breach. You can claim data breach compensation from organisations leaking your information (like a public service or your employer); from organisations sharing your information without consent; or even from hacks, as examples.
In the digital age we live in, where organisations hold an astounding wealth of information about us, we’re all at risk of our right to privacy being breached, and at risk of scams and frauds.
So what can you claim for in terms of data breach compensation, and on what basis do you claim?
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EasyJet admits data of nine million hacked
British Airways data breach: How to claim up to £6,000 compensation
Are you owed £5,000 for the Virgin Media data breach?
Virgin Media faces £4.5 BILLION in compensation payouts
BA customers given final deadline to claim compensation for data breach
Shoppers slam Morrisons after loyalty points stolen
Half a million customers can sue BA over huge data breach
Lawyers accuse BA of 'swerving responsibility' for data breach
The biggest data breaches of 2020
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