Welcome To The Data Leak Lawyers Blog

The main cause of data breaches? Human error…

The primary cause of data breaches nowadays is simple – human error.

As humans we’re susceptible to making mistakes. It’s what we do and it’s a part of life, and learning from mistakes to better ourselves is a responsibility we all share.

But time and time again data breaches – which are continual – are happening because of human mistakes that have happened before and CAN be prevented.

So why aren’t organisations doing more to tackle it?
read more

By Author

Has your Microsoft Outlook or Hotmail account been flooded with spam over the last few days?

You’re not alone!

When I woke up the other day and checked my Hotmail account to find I’d been flooded with a load of spam emails, I thought “oh great, some idiot has signed my account up to something” – but it turns out it’s not that at all.

Apparently Microsoft is having some issues with its email filters, and the result has been a tirade of spam mails that’s caused a great deal of annoyance for those affected.
read more

By Author

One in Three admit to sticking tape over webcams, is there such a thing as being “too cautious” about online security?

Studies have revealed that around one in three people will obscure their laptop webcam with the fear of the camera being hacked or being used to watch you.

To be fair, I do it!

The study has shown that around a third of people are inclined to use a bit of tape, or bluetac, or something similar to block the view of the webcam in the worry that someone could be accessing it without their knowledge, and it begs the question: is there such a thing as being “too cautious” when it comes to online security?
read more

By Author

Is there any such thing as a “non-serious” data breach?

There are differing levels in terms of severity of data leaks – it could be fair comment to say that a person’s full name being leaked is perhaps not as dangerous as a person’s bank account details being leaked. But it does depend on other factors, like whether a leak of a name is related to a sensitive subject; such as the full name of someone with a certain medical condition, as an example.

If that happens then just a name can be very serious indeed, but in an age where leaks are happening around the world all of the time – and we literally mean, ALL of the time – we ask the question: is there really such thing as a “non-serious” data breach?
read more

By Author

Check Point Claims Limited fined £250,000 for serious data protection breaches

Nuisance calls – the bane of many people’s lives!

Thankfully the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) can fine and prosecute organisations for failing to adhere to regulations for marketing calls, and in this example, Check Point Claims Limited has been fined a huge £250,000.00 for failing to comply with the law.

They reportedly made a staggering 17.5 MILLION nuisance calls asking if people had suffered hearing loss at work.
read more

By Author

Kiddicare customer data breach

The details of almost 800,000 customers of UK baby and child retailer Kiddicare have been stolen from a version of their website it had been using for testing.

Customers reported receiving suspicious messages that had not been sent by Kiddicare, and following an investigation, the data breach was linked back to a test website they had used which led to customer data being compromised.

The company has reported itself to the ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office) in light of what has happened.
read more

By Author

56 Dean Street Clinic Fined £180,000 by ICO; a move welcomed by our lawyers leading the fight for justice

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has concluded its investigations in to the 56 Dean Street Clinic data leak that saw the confidential HIV status of over 700 patients inadvertently leaked by email.

Our lawyers fighting for justice have welcomed the move by the ICO to fine the clinic following the breach. We’ve taken on a large number of cases since the leak, and we’re still taking instructions now (with the latest few being this week).
read more

By Author

Blackpool NHS Fined £185,000 for serious Data Protection Breach

Personal and sensitive data of thousands of employees working for Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust was inadvertently posted online.

The discovery was made on 30^th January 2015 and reportedly affects more than 6,500 employees when a spreadsheet containing highly confidential information was published online back in March 2014.

The data included names, national insurance numbers, birth dates, religious beliefs, pay scales, disability statuses, ethnicity, and sexual orientation.

This is a serious breach of data protection and one of the worst we have ever seen here in the UK.
read more

By Author

Computer viruses found in German nuclear power plant

Now there’s a headline that fills me with dread; the thought of a computer virus inside a nuclear power plant!

We all know how valuable nuclear power can be, but we also know how dangerous it can be if a plant was to suffer some form of catastrophic failure, and with practically everything these days governed by computers, it’s a worry to hear that a nuclear power plant could have computer viruses.

Simple viruses can shut down PC’s; turn off fans; overload servers; all sorts…
read more

By Author

Health and Social Care Information Centre signs ICO undertaking after failing to protect against medial data sharing

The Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) has signed an undertaking to comply with its requirements under the Data Protection Act, having fallen short in the past.

Patients whose data they were dealing with were offered an “opt-out” option for certain data being shared with other organisations, but this was not honoured. As such, anyone who opted out still had their information shared anyway without their consent.

The HSCIC has now reportedly agreed to take a series of steps and have signed an undertaking to ensure they comply with their obligations in the future.
read more

By Author