Welcome To The Data Leak Lawyers Blog
We focus on the latest news surrounding data breaches, leaks and hacks plus daily internet security articles.
We focus on the latest news surrounding data breaches, leaks and hacks plus daily internet security articles.
An employee in the motor industry has reportedly been prosecuted for the unlawful disclosure of accident data, which she illegally recorded and sold on for use by another company.
The ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office) has confirmed that a former employee of the RAC collected road accident data from the car insurance and roadside assistance company. It is then reported that she passed data on to the director of an accident claims firm.
The incident shows how personal data can be a valuable criminal asset and is a disturbing account of how the trust of customers can be broken when criminals decide to misuse data for their own profit. At the same time, it is reassuring that such criminals can be detected and punished under the law.
At Your Lawyers – The Data Leak Lawyers – as leading data breach claims lawyers, we aim to hold those responsible for data breaches to account for their actions. As such, if you have suffered as a result of having your data exposed, we are here to help you claim the compensation that you deserve.
Arup, an international professional services firm, has reportedly suffered a recent data breach, after their third-party payroll provider succumbed to a cybersecurity incident.
The payroll information of current and former employees is understood to have been affected, with Arup contacting those whose details have been compromised. We cannot yet put a number on the scale of the breach but, based on the information disclosed to customers, the Arup data breach may have affected many of the company’s employees.
We have already begun taking on cases for affected claimants, who may be entitled to recover compensation for the exposure of their personal data. If you have been notified of your involvement in the Arup data breach, please do not hesitate to contact us for free, no-obligation advice on your potential compensation claim.
According to an article from HoldtheFrontPage, the Midlands News Association has recently suffered a data security incident that led to the publication of private details belonging to journalists.
This is understood to have included journalists who were employed by the newspaper as far back as 2011. It is believed that an unauthorised third party was able to access the data, and that they chose to post the stolen information online.
All data controllers have a legal responsibility to ensure that the data disclosed to them is stored and processed securely. If they ever fail to uphold this duty, they can be held to account under the law. If it is found to have breached data protection law, the Midlands News Association could be liable to pay compensation to those affected. Anyone who has been notified of their involvement in the data breach can contact us to make an enquiry about their potential compensation claim.
In the penultimate week of March, retail chain Fat Face reportedly sent an email to customers notifying them of a breach that had first been identified in mid-January. Reportedly sent to thousands of affected customers, the email revealed that private data had been accessed by an unauthorised user for a limited period of time. It has also been alleged that customers were told to keep the notification of the Fat Face data breach private, and that the company has allegedly paid a ransom to a cybercrime gang.
These claims have yet to be fully verified, but there are still several issues arising out of the Fat Face data breach. The company’s notification to customers appears to be delayed at best, which raises questions about whether Fat Face followed the correct data breach notification procedures. At this stage, we do not know, and we will need to find out.
In any case, the victims whose private information was exposed could now fall victim to data misuse. If it emerges that Fat Face was at fault, victims may be eligible to make compensation claims, and we are already taking claims forward for this incident.
Amey has joined the growing list of construction companies affected by hacks, after suffering the blow of a ransomware attack in mid-December last year. The Amey cyberattack reportedly exposed extensive company data, including information relating to employees and business transactions.
With much of the data being dumped on the hacker group’s leak site, the cyberattack has produced a substantial breach of company privacy that could significantly affect the operations of the infrastructure support service provider. As a giant of the industry, the Amey breach will likely raise concerns in the UK construction sector, with other companies worrying if they may be the next target.
Data Privacy Day 2021 was marked recently on the 28th January, the fifteenth time the day has been celebrated. Also called Data Protection Day in the UK and Europe, Data Privacy Day commemorates the signing of the first international treaty that was legally binding for governing data protection and privacy, named Convention 108.
After what had been another eventful year of data breaches in 2020, we believe it is important for all individuals and organisations to start 2021 with a positive, proactive approach to data protection. The commemorative day at the start of the year should be valuable in raising awareness about issues relating to data privacy, yet nothing ever seems to change as we continue to see breach after breach after breach.
At Your Lawyers – The Data Leak Lawyers – we aim to empower victims of data breaches to take action against those who have failed to protect their data, to ensure that the consequences of data breaches can be learned. We feel that it is the most proactive way forward given that no amount of legislation or commemorative days appear to be making the difference that is really required.
A recent data handling error has left thousands of arrest records lost, after they were accidentally deleted from the Police National Computer (PNC).
The mistake represents an extremely severe blow to police operations, which could pose a threat to public safety. While initial statements set the number of lost records at 150,000, it has since been reported that as many as 400,000 crime records could be affected.
As one of our major national institutions, it is worrying to see that the police force has been hit by data loss of this scale. There is no room for such errors in an organisation responsible for protecting so much important information, which is one of its key weapons in detecting and arresting suspects.
In what is continuing to be a common trend for local government authorities, the recent Blackpool Council data leak has seen the exposure of personal data belonging to hundreds of individuals.
The issue has been labelled as a so-called accidental “human error” incident. A data handling mistake reportedly resulted in the details of about 428 people being made public, when the data should have remained private.
Occurring within months of our coverage of the Hackney Council cyberattack and the Bristol City Council data leak, this breach unfortunately comes as no shock to us. It probably comes as no shock to anyone who has become familiar with recurring patterns of council data leaks in general. Inadequate data protection practices at so many local councils means that this is a nationwide problem. We are here to help anyone affected by data breaches like this, striving to win them the compensation they deserve.
A constable at Derbyshire Police has recently faced a misconduct hearing over allegations of unlawfully accessing records of a police incident and then sharing a photo of the file with colleagues.
Although the officer’s actions contravened policing standards and data protection law, he has escaped dismissal and will be allowed to continue serving at Derbyshire Police.
Regardless of the verdict of the hearing, a breach such as this should never have occurred at all. Testaments to the officer’s reportedly “excellent” work as an officer do not erase his culpability for what has been regarded as an incredibly reckless action. As an organisation with access to extensive personal data, the police service has a vital duty to be rigorous in data protection and we should all feel safe that our information with them is secure. Our trust in the police should never be abused.
Following a two-year investigation into credit reference agencies, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has taken enforcement action against Experian. It was ruled that the company must make “fundamental changes to how it handles people’s personal data”, according to the ICO.
The investigation examined three credit agencies, of which Experian is the only one to reportedly face punitive action for data handling they carry out for direct marketing purposes.
Experian is understood to have taken some steps towards improving their data handling, but it was not enough to satisfy the ICO that data protection law was being adhered to. It is reassuring to know that Experian must make changes, and demonstrates to other companies that any sidestepping of the GDPR will not be tolerated by regulators.
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
Fill out our quick call back form below and we'll contact you when you're ready to talk to us.
