Midlands News Association data breach exposes journalists’ private information

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.

Midlands News Association data breach – what happened?

It is understood that the Midlands News Association data breach arose as a result of an unauthorised user accessing the company’s systems, as reported by HoldtheFrontPage. Although the MNA has allegedly described the data as “difficult to download and access”, the third party appears to have been, nevertheless, able to steal the private information, after which they decided to publish it online.

The details that are understood to have been exposed by the data breach include:

• names;
• addresses;
• National Insurance numbers;
• dates of birth;
• bank account information.

The director of the Midlands News Association is understood to have sent a notification letter to those affected by the data breach. We understand that this informed them that the incident was identified on 14^th January, after which immediate action was taken to control the breach. IT specialists investigating the breach later found that certain folders were accessed.

The risks for victims

As some data has already been published online, the victims of the data breach have been exposed to significant security risks already. The Midlands News Association is said to be working with the police to manage the ongoing publication of data, trying to prevent further private information from ending up in the public domain.

The types of details exposed suggest that victims could fall prey to fraud and identity theft, though the MNA has claimed that there is currently no evidence of data misuse. We can only hope that this remains the case but, in our experience, incidents usually follow when details are exposed.

Making a data breach claim

In his letter to journalists, the director expressed that they take data protection very seriously at the MNA, but the data breach still warrants thorough investigation, of course. Those involved are not only at risk of data misuse, but also at risk from the potential emotional impact of data breaches, and this can also be severe.

The law entitles data breach victims to make compensation claims for the exposure of their personal information. Your Lawyers – The Data Leak Lawyers – as specialists in data breach claims, we want to ensure that all data breach victims can access the justice they deserve.

If you have been affected by the Midlands News Association incident, please do not hesitate to contact us for free, no-obligation advice on your potential compensation claim.

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