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.
The Windrush data breach incident that happened on 7th April 2019 has forced changes to be adopted by the Home Office following the leak of information surrounding the compensation scheme.
Earlier this month, mass emails were sent out to people taking part in the Windrush compensation scheme, as well as other interested parties. Emails were reportedly sent out in batches of 100, and the first five batches are understood to have resulted in a data breach. Yet again, this was another case where recipients of the email could see each other’s information.
This kind of incident has happened so many times before, and it triggered one of the more severe compensation actions we’re involved ion; the 56 Dean Street Clinic leak. Changes are now set to be made.
A lack of data training is an easy open goal for data breaches and cybersecurity incidents. It’s not a viable defence to a claim for compensation.
Over the years we’ve been helping people, thousands of victims have asked for our help for data breaches, leaks and hacks. We can tell you from years of experience that a common cause of incidents can sometimes be a simple issue of a lack of training. Even though data breaches are always in the news, and the risk of a cybersecurity incident has probably never been higher, data protection training is still not a priority for some.
I’ve spoken to friends and family for some insight as well, and there are still way too many organisations not treating it seriously; despite GDPR. For a victim who must make a claim for data breach compensation, a lack of training is no excuse to deflect a claim.
The social media giant hasn’t had it easy lately, with a number of data breach incidents plaguing their public image. The recent revelations about the Facebook password data protection flaws is another headache to add to the pile.
It’s understood that some Facebook passwords have not been securely stored and have been accessible to thousands of Facebook employees. You would expect that one of the biggest social media platforms in the world would have the best protection for passwords, but this story suggests otherwise.
Users affected by the issue are set to be contacted by Facebook. This incident is one in a long line of recent data scandals Facebook has been embroiled in.
Given the scale of this growing market, which is becoming increasingly monetised with in-game purchases often the norm now, we may see increases in online gaming data breach incidents.
When you look under the surface of the gaming industry, there are a number of reasons to feel concerned. The revelations about Fortnite hacking (or Fortnite cracking as it’s often referred to) is worrying. Some youngsters are making a mint by hacking into accounts and then making use of the often-hard-earned digital property the original account user had amassed as they sell accounts on.
Online gaming is on the rise. This could put a bigger target on their back for the cybercriminals and fraudsters who can exploit gamers with ransom demands and account takeovers.
It’s understood that a Bromford data breach incident occurred last year after the housing association accidentally sent letters to the old addresses for hundreds of tenants.
News of the breach comes from the media outlet Inside Housing. The error appears to be linked to some form of system issue where the old addresses for some tenants was copied into a new system. Some 30,000 letters were then sent to tenants in relation to rent reviews, and it’s believed that 253 of them were sent to the wrong (old) address.
After concerned tenants contacted the company about issues receiving their letters, the mistake was discovered. By then, the damage had already been done.
A Deliveroo data breach “incident” is said to have been reported to the ICO who have confirmed that they’re making inquiries.
Back in 2016, the food delivery company faced scrutiny after customers complained of fraudulent transactions on their accounts. In some cases, it appeared the issues were down to people’s credentials being stolen in hacks completely separate to Deliveroo. Criminals had used stolen credentials to access accounts in cases where credentials were reused.
Deliveroo were subsequently criticised over what some customers felt was a failure to spot and stop fraudulent transactions. In this latest incident, it appears that history may be repeating itself.
Greater Facebook regulation is looking imminent after a year-long inquiry that included issues over the misuse of personal data.
The inquiry, launched in-part after the Cambridge Analytica scandal, comes after a spate of recent data breach incidents involving the social medial platform. The recommendations made by the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee include an independent regulator to oversee tech firms like Facebook.
It’s not been an easy process judging from the remarks of MPs and others involved with the inquiry. Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg, didn’t even come to the UK to answer questions himself, which has reportedly caused a stir.
The recent iPhone eavesdropping bug has whipped up something of a frenzy after a glitch was discovered that affected users of its FaceTime feature.
In an era where we’re constantly being hit with data breaches, and were online security is at the forefront of many people’s minds, the issue has resulted in a great deal of worry for some people. And with Apple often talking about how much they value privacy, this latest glitch has no doubt caused a bit of embarrassment.
Some have called for people to refrain from using the FaceTime feature until the iPhone eavesdropping bug has been resolved. We’d be inclined to agree.
Human error has been blamed for the Ceredigion council data leak that was discovered last year. Personal and sensitive information had been accidentally uploaded to the council’s website in error.
The matter was reported to the ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office) who could still issue a GDPR fine. However, for the victims, justice can be achieved by a separate legal case they’d be entitled to launch.
Human error remains one of the top causes for data breach incidents in the UK. Council data breach compensation claims are also one of the more common types of cases we deal with as well. We’re therefore not surprised to hear that the Ceredigion council data leak fits into this category.
The Mumsnet data breach hit the news last week, with dozens of accounts reportedly affected after a software upgrade caused a leak incident.
The parenting site is said to have reported themselves to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) already. The UK’s data watchdog will now have to decide whether the incident is serious enough to warrant any form of financial punishment for the incident. The Mumsnet data breach resulted in personal information for the affected users being exposed.
Any victim of a data breach can be entitled to claim data breach compensation for any distress and financial loss caused. We see these kinds of breaches all the time, and news of new breaches doesn’t come as a surprise to us anymore.
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
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