Welcome To The Data Leak Lawyers Blog

Scams and fraud from data breaches and data leaks

Scams and fraud from data breaches and data leaks are common. In fact, scams and fraud are common anyway, with more than 10,000 cases reported last year, which was a five percent rise on the previous year.

It can be so easy for people to fall victim to scams and fraud that stem from data breaches, so the big question is how people can protect themselves, and what the organisations who hold our money – and data – can do to protect us as well. The burden of responsibility is a two-way street, and there is plenty that banks and organisations can do to better protect us.
read more

By Author

Uber data breach was a lesson in how NOT to handle a cyberattack

The Uber data breach was a clear lesson in how NOT to handle a cyberattack. When the hackers contacted Uber by email, back in November 2016, they demanded a six-figure sum in order to destroy the wealth of data they’d stolen so news of the breach would quietly fade away once the bribe had been paid.

As opposed to dealing with the data breach in the appropriate way, Uber decided to pay-off the hackers and cover the breach up. A payment of $100,000 was reportedly made to the two hackers, and employees responsible for the security issue passed the whole thing off as a “bug bounty” program, which is where hackers are offered money to try and find weaknesses.

In reality, they were simply hacked, and Uber have not only paid the heavy price of the bribe, but also the cost of a handling the crisis thereafter.
read more

By Author

TalkTalk accused of continuing to neglect cybersecurity

Telecoms giant TalkTalk have been accused of continuing to neglect cybersecurity after a hacker contacted Sky news and reported website security flaws that had been left unfixed for years.

The news comes as little surprise to us as we continue to represent victims for previous TalkTalk cyber-hacks that were, in our view, entirely preventable.

According to the media reports from the end of March, the hacker found a simple scripting error that allowed him to take control of a TalkTalk.co.uk URL, and use it to trick customers that they were visiting a genuine TalkTalk website.
read more

By Author

UK Anti-Doping Agency (UKAD) hit by cyber-attack

The UK Anti-Doping Agency (UKAD) was hit by a cyber-attack at the end of March. The agency holds a wealth of data about thousands of professional footballers and Olympic athletes for anti-doping monitoring and compliance.

The data they hold includes medical records and drugs that are used by athletes in accordance with exemption rules.

In 2016, the World Anti-Doping Agency was the subject to a cyber espionage leak that released the classified medical records and drug testing documentation for high-profile athletes, which included drugs used under exemption rules.
read more

By Author

Travel site Orbitz hit by probable cyber-attack: 880k credit card data at risk

There’s been yet another major data protection breach, this time involving Obitz – a subsidiary of Expedia Inc – who say that the data of some 880,000 accounts may have been compromised in a cyber-hack.

Earlier this month, travel site Orbitz determined that an attacker may have accessed data stored on a computer system used by consumers, and accessed a separate tool used by businesses. It’s believed that data submitted in 2016 was exposed, but the discovery of the breach only happened in March this year, meaning data may have been exposed for a prolonged period of time
read more

By Author

Trusted Quid data breach – some 66,000 payday loan customers hit by breach

We have already been contacted by people affected by the Trusted Quid data protection breach, and our Data Leak Lawyers have agreed to investigate cases.

As many as 66,000 customers of payday loan firm Trusted Cash, trading as Trusted Quid, may have had their data stolen due to an unauthorised access of their website. Customers affected by the breach are now at a greater risk of becoming a victim of fraud as key information was stolen in the breach.

Because of the nature of the data compromised in the cyberattack, this is a very serious data protection breach indeed.

read more

By Author

Tesco Travel Money data protection breach advice

Back in 2016, the cybersecurity of Tesco Bank was rigorously questioned, when hackers were able to gain access to 9,000 customers’ accounts and steal £2,500,000.

Tesco also suffered a further breach last week were they reportedly cancelled a number of credit cards over a ‘third-party compromise’.

There has now been another breach where it’s estimated 17,000 Tesco Travel Money customers are subject to this new and massive data protection breach which happened through Travelex – a company that runs services on behalf of Tesco.

Names and payment information are amongst the data that has reportedly been compromised
read more

By Author

NHS Healthcare systems most vulnerable to data protection breaches caused by hackers

A recent study concluded that, in January, almost 40% of data protection breaches in a particular healthcare sector were caused by hacking.

Although the figures are from one study, and the results are relevant for the area of the study, the risk of NHS Trusts, doctors and hospitals falling victim to a hack is a serious and ongoing concern.

The 2017 “WannaCry” cyber-hack that specifically targeted older and more outdated systems hit the NHS hard. In fact, the UK faced a practical crisis in the immediate fallout of the hack.
read more

By Author

Hugh Grant joins the list of celebrities whose cases against Trinity Mirror Group have settled for phone hacking

Actor Hugh Grant is said to have received a six-figure settlement sum as a victim of the infamous phone-hacking scandal involving Trinity Mirror Group.

Mr Grant reportedly condemned members of the Mirror outlets involved, including Piers Morgan, who was in charge at the time when the hacking took place but denies knowledge or involvement in the shameful and illegal behaviour.

This remains one of the most infamous cases of the misuse of private information that was attained by hacking into victims’ phones and voice-mails.
read more

By Author

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.
read more

By Author