Welcome To The Data Leak Lawyers Blog

ICO fine Kent Police £80K for serious data breach of alleged domestic abuse victim

The Information Commissioners Office (ICO) has fined Kent Police £80,000 after the entire contents of an alleged domestic abuse victim’s mobile phone were disclosed to the alleged assailant.

The victim had given her phone to Kent Police on the grounds it contained video footage of the alleged abuse. The contents were copied, but the domestic abuse court case was discontinued.

Her former partner who was accused of the abuse was actually a serving officer at Kent Police and faced separate misconduct proceedings, and as part of the separate case, the entire contents of the phone were then inadvertently disclosed to the solicitor defending the officer.
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Data Leak Law – Your Rights in Brief

People are still unsure about their rights to compensation as a victim of a data leak. It’s an emerging problem as the continuation of the digital age means more and more of our information can so easily be mishandled.

One wrong click of a button; a single mistype; a slip by staff clicking on a rogue email link – they can all lead to huge amounts of data being inadvertently put in the hands of people it shouldn’t have.

So, the aim of this blog is to give you a little bit of an insight – in brief – about your rights to claim.
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The 21st century commodity; YOUR information for sale

Information has never been more valuable than it is in today’s digital age. Information is everything – it tells others so much about you that it can be a really powerful tool to use for organisations who want to market their products and services to a targeted audience.

The problem now is that it’s so easy to take large chunks of data – possibly containing millions of people’s personal information – and pass this on to someone who could make a fortune from it.

Despite legislation we have in the UK, the sale of information can be a serious problem.
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Capita Disability Benefits Assessor admits taking photos of applications – a serious breach of the Data Protection Act

In the wake of the ongoing saga over how disability benefit funds are allocated, Channel 4’s Dispatches program launched an undercover investigation in to what really goes on when applicants are assessed for help.

What they discovered was shocking – amongst the footage and evidence gathered, which showed disgraceful and unfeeling abuse from assessors who were caught red handed admitting to poor practice, was one assessor admitting that he takes photos of applications to prove he has done them so he can get paid for his work.

This is a serious and intentional breach of the Data Protection Act.
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Making a data leak claim – in absolute confidence

OK, so you’ve been the victim of a data leak, and you want to seek compensation for what’s happened. That’s your right to do so, and our specialist Data Leak Lawyers can help you to claim because we’re experts in representing victims for data leaks and hacks.

But, as a data leak victim, we imagine you’re already upset enough that your personal and confidential data has been leaked without your authority. This begs the question then – can you make a data leak claim confidentially?
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Santander Cash Points targeted by criminals

A number of Santander cash machines have been effectively targeted by criminals, and police are warning people to be vigilante and to avoid using Santander cash points.

First reports came in from police who confirmed: “Security at Santander ATMs in Lancs (Lancashire) has been compromised. Advice is not to use them” – but the warning has since been extended across the whole of the UK.

Victims who have lost money are being told to contact Santander as soon as possible.
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University of Greenwich Data Leak – how do you know if you’re affected?

We’ve accepted instructions to act for victims of the University of Greenwich data leak that saw hundreds (but potentially thousands) of people’s personal information visible on the university website.

Information included personal contact details; medical information; private family information; progress reports; and even signatures of students. The information had been visible for public view, and although it still isn’t clear how this has happened, the current theory is that the information was supposed to be on a secure portal and not supposed to be accessible from Google searches.

As well as acting for individuals who have received confirmation that they have been affected, we have also been contacted by people who want to know if they have been affected or not.
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The University of Greenwich Data Leaks – why people SHOULD be concerned about fraud and identity theft

Whilst we’re not here to bring doomsday style headlines, we are here to help and advise victims of data leaks; and now that we’re acting for individuals who have been a victim of the University of Greenwich data leak, we want to ensure that our advice to our clients extends to those considering asking us for help as well.

Data leak law is what we do – so for those who have been affected, our legal team have a stern warning about making sure you take steps to protect yourself in the wake of the University of Greenwich data leak.
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University of Greenwich – Data Leak Lawyers now instructed to act for victims

We’ve been contacted by a number of people affected by the University of Greenwich data leak which saw hundreds (although potentially more) students have their personal information posted on the university website.

Information may have been accessible for several years, and it included personal, financial, and medical information about a number of students. Although the distress alone of your personal information being available online is bad enough, there is a real risk of identity fraud issues because financial and contact information, and even signatures of students, were posted.
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Looking Back; the data breaches defining history – British Gas

The trend of hackers successfully targeting big firms and leaking millions of innocent victim’s data is on the rise. We’ve covered lots of breaches and hacks in recent news, and were acting for large numbers of people who have fallen victim to some of the most serious data breaches we have ever experienced here in the UK.

In October 2015 we saw British Gas hit by a significant data breach on the same week that TalkTalk and Marks & Spencer’s were hit, leaving the energy giants having to contact thousands of customers who had been affected.
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