We focus on the latest news surrounding data breaches, leaks and hacks plus daily internet security articles.
As patients, we trust that our data is held securely by healthcare organisations, and that medical professionals will only access and use our information when absolutely necessary. Unfortunately, hospital data snooping does occur, as some healthcare staff view patient information without authorisation or consent.
Whether intentional or unintentional, data snooping is a practice that all healthcare staff must steer clear of, particularly due to the sensitivity of medical records. It is understandably worrying for victims to learn that their information has been subjected to unauthorised access, as there could be malicious intent behind the user’s actions. When healthcare staff abuse or take advantage of their data access privileges in this way, it can constitute a breach of data protection law.
If you believe that your privacy has been violated in this way, you could be eligible to claim compensation for the harm caused. Contact us for free, no-obligation advice now if you think you may have a claim to make.
The healthcare sector has long been a target for cyberattacks, and this threat can be compounded by the often-poor cybersecurity adopted by some hospitals and doctors’ practices, as well as employee errors that have brought about a number of data breaches in recent years. Health data breaches can be particularly harmful to those affected, as the personal information and medical records held by healthcare providers can, understandably, be intensely private to patients.
The problem of health data breaches appears to have exacerbated further over the past year or so. The Covid-19 pandemic has prompted a surge in cyberattacks across all kinds of organisations, but healthcare has been seen as a particularly vulnerable sector due to the increased strain brought by managing coronavirus.
Regardless of the circumstances in which a data breach occurs, there is never any excuse for healthcare organisations that have failed to protect patient and employee data. If held to account in a data breach claim, these organisations could be forced to pay out compensation to the affected victims. If you have been affected by a data breach incident and wish to seek justice, do not hesitate to contact us for free, no-obligation advice.
We are now two years on from the discovery of a mass snooping scandal in Greater Manchester involving Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust where the unauthorised access to medical records affected some 2,000 people.
We represent clients for cases in this serious abuse of access by what is understood to be more than one employee at the Trust in question. We represent clients for cases where their wider medical records were accessed during their treatment by people who did not need to access their data, and had no right or reason to. We have also been recommending that our clients check their medical records too as a number of inaccuracies have been identified also.
This all suggests that the practice of medical records data protection and organisation has been poor at the Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust. We continue to represent people for data breach compensation claims, and you can still join our group action for the mass snooping event. You can also speak to our team for free, no-obligation advice about general issues over unauthorised access to medical records as well.
With many businesses and other organisations opting for cloud storage to hold personal information, there is a new dimension of risk management for data controllers to deal with. Healthcare cloud data breaches can be a particular risk, as the healthcare sector has long been a target of cyberattacks, and hospitals’ cloud storage systems can contain a wealth of sensitive data.
When configured and operated correctly, cloud databases should be entirely secure; but user errors can compromise entire systems. Private information can be put at risk by these needless mistakes, leaving the victims vulnerable to data misuse.
Anyone who has had their personal security endangered by a cloud data breach may be able to claim compensation. There are no excuses for database mismanagement, so companies can be held accountable in accordance with the law. To find out more about making a claim, you can contact our team for free, no-obligation advice.
We have been approached for help and are taking legal action now for people affected by the recently revealed Deerbrook Surgery data breach who are eligible to claim with us.
Your Lawyers (T/A The Data Leak Lawyers), as a leading firm of data breach compensation experts, is often at the forefront of this still-developing area of law. When new breaches and leaks happen, it can be common for the victims to approach us for help early on. We are often in the media a lot, and we have been working in this niche area of law since 2014. This is a lot longer than most other firms out there, and is why we represent thousands of clients for singular cases and in group and multi-party actions.
Having already recovered over £1m for mostly individual clients, our experience speaks for itself. If you have been affected by the Deerbrook Surgery data breach, you can speak to our team here now for free, no-obligation advice.
With the cyber threat facing healthcare organisations across the globe and on a domestic level at a high, a significant Public Health England data breach could easily happen. With cybersecurity and data protection under such scrutiny, it is natural that doubts have been cast over all kinds of data controllers in the healthcare sector.
The spike in cyberattacks on the healthcare sector has been a much-reported issue over the past year or so, with a perception that cybercriminals have sought to take advantage of the chaos caused by the coronavirus pandemic. However, it is also true that a vast number of data breaches within the healthcare sector are caused by human error, so healthcare organisations must focus on internal training to ensure that they keep information secure.
If you have been affected by a healthcare data breach, you may be entitled to claim compensation for the harm caused. At Your Lawyers – the Data Leak Lawyers – as leading privacy claims experts, we have years of experience in data breach claims, and we can use our expertise to help you achieve the justice you deserve.
Many of the data breach victims that we represent suffer the harmful consequences of privacy incidents. Victims are often affected by distress, as well as being targets for scammers and fraudsters seeking to capitalise on the exposure of private information. Unfortunately, there can be even more damaging effects to data breaches, particularly those that affect highly sensitive information. For those who have suffered from a catastrophic data breach, compensation claims can allow victims to recover compensation for the harm caused.
Your Lawyers, as leading specialists in data breach claims, have seen how profoundly information exposure can affect the lives and well-being of our clients. In our view, it is unacceptable that such suffering should be caused by organisations failing to comply with data protection laws. We have dedicated ourselves to helping data breach victims assert their rights since 2014, so we have the experience to help you claim the compensation you deserve.
We are now two years on from the revelation about the serious Charing Cross Gender Clinic data leak, and we continue to represent victims for compensation claims.
Although our action is now at an advanced stage, given how long ago the email data breaches took place, do not worry if you have yet to start a claim – there is still time. However, we just strongly urge anyone affected to start their claim as a matter of urgency to avoid missing out on the three-year rule for claiming personal injury damages in a data breach compensation case. For anyone who has suffered significantly, which we understand given the nature of the breaches, higher-level awards can be caught by the personal injury time limits. Generally speaking, you must have either settled a legal case or issued legal proceedings before the deadline expires, so there really isn’t much time left at all.
Make sure you sign-up to join the legal action and avoid missing out on the chance to claim damages as a victim of this serious and sensitive leak of personal information
The link between healthcare data breaches and Covid has been well-documented, with various studies and reports suggesting that breaches have been on the rise worldwide since 2020. With hospitals already under immense strain, it is unsurprising that they have become more vulnerable to cyberattacks, in addition to the usual internal errors and leaks and breaches that can take place.
While data security may have become somewhat of a peripheral concern during the coronavirus pandemic, it needs to be brought front and centre if the problem is to be tackled, and if data controllers are to prevent the problem from being exploited by criminals. In the past, data breaches have often highlighted the lacklustre approach to data protection at many healthcare organisations, where there can sometimes be a lack of cybersecurity resources and expertise.
But these shortages cannot be an excuse. If you have been affected by a healthcare data breach since the start of the pandemic, you could be eligible to claim compensation for any harm caused. There is no reason for you not to seek justice when you have been harmed. As such, you can contact us for free, no-obligation advice if you think you may have a claim to make.
The education sector is being increasingly targeted by cyberattacks, with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) issuing a warning regarding the rising incidence of criminal attacks in late March. Primary schools, secondary schools and higher educational institutions all hold a wide variety of private information, some of which can be highly sensitive in nature. Ensuring good cybersecurity in the education sector is, therefore, of paramount importance to ensure the privacy and safety of both staff and students.
While some cyberattacks can be difficult to prevent, it can sometimes be the case that organisations have failed to ensure that their systems are secure enough, allowing hackers a point of easy access. When this occurs, the organisation in question may have breached data protection law.
It is essential that schools and universities do their bit to protect the information that they store and process, or they risk exposing staff and students to data misuse. Anyone who has been put in this vulnerable situation may be eligible to claim compensation for the harm caused, so do not hesitate to contact us if you think that you may have a claim to make.
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