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.
Cyberattacks can be a common reason for the occurrence of data breaches, as criminals often target company databases to gain access to huge swathes of information. There is one type of attack that is particularly malicious in nature: when databases with highly sensitive data are hacked and the victims are held to ransom by cybercriminals, perhaps seeking payment in return for a vow that they will not misuse or publish the information.
These can sometimes be empty promises, placing the victims in danger whether they choose to pay up or reject the ransom. Unfortunately, poor data security of some organisations can often be the reason as to why victims end up in this defenseless position in the first place, as weaknesses in their systems could allow cybercriminals to break through.
If you have been put in a precarious situation due to a ransomware attack, we are here to advise you on your potential right to claim data breach compensation from those responsible for negligence.
In a serious misstep at East Devon Council, the passwords of 37 council members were reportedly exposed online to other councillors, leaving private email inboxes potentially vulnerable to unauthorised access.
The error was quickly corrected, with affected councillors resetting their passwords. However, the period of vulnerability could have caused leaks of confidential information, which is why this is a serious matter.
Despite local authorities’ important responsibility to their communities and residents, we see data breaches happening far too frequently at local councils, suggesting that many are still failing to take their data protection duties seriously. At Your Lawyers – The Data Leak Lawyers – we believe that failures when it comes to data protection law justifies legal action, as many of these local authorities need to develop more rigorous data protection measures to protect people’s information. Where they fail to do so, we are here to help.
It is unsurprising that bank account information and credit or debit card details are among the most sought-after types of data for cybercriminals. This is due to financial motives many hackers have when they carry out cybercrimes. Payment card fraud is, therefore, one of the most significant risks of data breaches, and can occur in many different ways.
If fraudsters gain access to your money, it can be very difficult to recover stolen funds directly. At Your Lawyers – The Data Leak Lawyers – we aim to hold the other guilty party to account in data breach cases, as a leading firm of data breach solicitors. In many instances, it is not just the criminal who is responsible for a data breach, but a third-party organisation may also be at fault if they failed to sufficiently protect personal data, and that is how criminals gained access to the details for you.
In the case of cyberattacks, many organisations follow appropriate reporting procedures, such as notifying the Information Commissioner’s Office of the breach. There is also the need for alerting affected customers, members, or employees of their involvement in a data security incident too. However, many firms may be ignoring cyberattacks and their after-effects, putting those affected in an unacceptable degree of danger, sometimes to preserve their own interests.
At Your Lawyers – The Data Leak Lawyers – as a leading data breach claims firm, we believe cyberattacks are like any other crime and should be reported and dealt with accordingly. Unfortunately, too many organisations view cybersecurity and data protections as luxury additions to their operations, disregarding the dangers they are putting people in.
If you have been affected by a data breach and believe the responsible party is not taking it seriously enough, you may be entitled to claim compensation. It is bad enough to have your data exposed, but to witness dangerous inaction from the organisation involved can only add insult to injury.
One of the latest data scams to take advantage of the coronavirus pandemic are fake coronavirus vaccine texts circulating with the goal of tricking people into making a payment for a jab.
Claiming to be from the NHS, senders have been using a tried-and-tested scam method as they ask for the input of bank account details. Fraud through text or email scams is still all too common, even though the method is relatively easy for scammers. It shows just how much damage can be done with access to an email address or phone number, which are exactly the kinds of details which are often exposed in data breaches.
At Your Lawyers – The Data Leak Lawyers – we are a leading firm that represent many clients who have fallen victim to fraud as a result of having their data exposed by a third-party business or organisation.
The Surveillance Camera Commissioner, Tony Porter, has recently spoken of his concerns regarding the technology used by local councils and the police to monitor public movements.
As the government watchdog designed to ensure government compliance with the surveillance camera code of practice, it is worrying that the commissioner believes the restrictions on local authorities may not be sufficient.
In particular, Mr Porter reportedly warned that the use of Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras is unregulated by central government, likening their usage to MI5 tracking. In fact, the security services are subject to much tighter restrictions, while the level of surveillance led by councils and the police appears to be going under the radar.
At Your Lawyers – The Data Leak Lawyers – we always advocate for personal privacy, so it is worrying that the government may be unnecessarily storing data and information pertaining to members of the public.
Many people unfortunately fell victim to identity fraud in 2020. It was another year that has been plagued by data breaches, leaks and hacks, with an increase that was widely attributed to the coronavirus pandemic.
With public awareness of identity fraud also on the rise, many consumers are increasingly concerned about their online security; and with good reason. At the Data Leak Lawyers, as a leading firm of data compensation experts, we see businesses failing to protect their customers’ data time and time again. The sheer quantity of data breaches in 2020 means that we have launched several new actions over the past year.
School cyberattacks represent some of the most significant threats to data privacy in the UK, primarily because of the sensitivity of the information that school systems hold.
While cybersecurity procedures will hopefully be followed well by most staff, the effects can be dangerous when a cyberattack exposes children, parent, or staff information.
Teachers and schools have an important duty of care for their pupils and are often privy to confidential information to allow them to protect children and provide tailored educational plans. This means that a lot of private information falls under their protection, whether this is provided by children and families, or shared with them by social services.
While large-scale data breaches are often the ones that hit the headlines, the reported Sheffield Council data breaches represent an example of how individual data breaches can build up and amount to significant information being exposed.
Over the course of 2019 and 2020, Sheffield City Council is understood to have recorded a total of 231 incidents, 92 of which were breaches involving personal data.
At the Your Lawyers – T/A the Data Leak Lawyers – we have been representing clients in privacy cases since 2014 as a leading firm of data breach compensation lawyers. We believe that councils must be held accountable for any inadequacies when it comes to data protection, so we are here to help you with council data breach compensation claims now.
In September, a study by Finder reportedly found that online shopping scams had increased by over a third in the first half of 2020.
The national lockdowns resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic have frequently been singled out as the reason for this notable rise in cases, which comes as no surprise. As such, it is also unsurprising that further waves of online shopping scams may continue as we enter the second month of the latest national lockdown in England.
Indeed, the figures in the Finder report suggested that online shopping and auction scams accounted for around two-thirds of fraud reported by consumers in 2020. Clearly, the threat of online shopping scams cannot be underestimated.
EasyJet admits data of nine million hacked
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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
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