Welcome To The Data Leak Lawyers Blog

Councils ‘unprepared’ for cyber-attacks

According to information from a report by privacy advocates Big Brother Watch, despite assurances that local government authorities are taking data protection seriously, more than a quarter of UK councils have had systems breached in the last five years.

The report also found that the majority of the successful breaches were caused by the simple and well-known phishing method, pointing to staff as the “weakest link” in terms of cybersecurity and data defence.

The report also references the fact that three-quarters of councils reportedly do not provide mandatory cyber-security training, with 16% not providing any at all.
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Tesco Travel Money data protection breach advice

Back in 2016, the cybersecurity of Tesco Bank was rigorously questioned, when hackers were able to gain access to 9,000 customers’ accounts and steal £2,500,000.

Tesco also suffered a further breach last week were they reportedly cancelled a number of credit cards over a ‘third-party compromise’.

There has now been another breach where it’s estimated 17,000 Tesco Travel Money customers are subject to this new and massive data protection breach which happened through Travelex – a company that runs services on behalf of Tesco.

Names and payment information are amongst the data that has reportedly been compromised
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NHS Healthcare systems most vulnerable to data protection breaches caused by hackers

A recent study concluded that, in January, almost 40% of data protection breaches in a particular healthcare sector were caused by hacking.

Although the figures are from one study, and the results are relevant for the area of the study, the risk of NHS Trusts, doctors and hospitals falling victim to a hack is a serious and ongoing concern.

The 2017 “WannaCry” cyber-hack that specifically targeted older and more outdated systems hit the NHS hard. In fact, the UK faced a practical crisis in the immediate fallout of the hack.
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Leicester City Council accidentally send spreadsheet to taxi firms containing details of vulnerable adults and children

Leicester City Council accidentally sent an unsecured spreadsheet to 27 taxi firms that reportedly contained sensitive details of potentially thousands of vulnerable adults and children.

The error occurred as the local government authority were processing tenders for transport of people in care and people with special needs.

Although a recall email was sent, there is no telling just how far the data may have inadvertently spread.
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What would happen to Carphone Warehouse if their 2015 data protection breach happened after the new GDPR laws come into force?

Back in 2015, hackers were able to easily access the databases of Carphone Warehouse who had reportedly failed to fix known flaws in their cybersecurity which may have been known about the previous year. As a result of the failure to adequately secure their systems, they were hit with a successful cyberattack.

The final report from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) was issued earlier this year, and Carphone Warehouse were hit with a £400,000 fine – one of the largest fines the ICO has ever issued.

With the new GDPR laws set to come into force in May 2018, wouldn’t it be interesting to see what would happen to Carphone Warehouse if this breach took place after the new data protection rules were in place?
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Gwent Police to be investigated over “hiding” data protection breach

Worryingly, the police occupy one of the top spots in terms of organisations at the centre of data breaches, data leaks and hacks. Victims whose data is compromised in a data protection breach deserve to be notified as soon as possible, but it’s not unheard of for an organisation to “hide” a data breach as opposed to facing up to it and dealing with it.

Reportedly, Gwent Police are to be investigated for doing just that.

News sources say that Gwent Police are being investigated for failing to inform hundreds of individuals that their data protection rights had been breached.
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NHS staff accessing neighbour’s medical records is NOT okay

There is a recent worrying trend of NHS staff being caught out snooping on people they know, or are related to, by abusing their powers to access their medical records.

Let’s be absolutely clear: it is NOT okay for any member of the NHS to access their neighbour’s medical records without good reason or due authorisation.

If you are informed that a member of the NHS staff has accessed your medical records in such a way, or if you discover it has happened, you may be entitled to claim for data protection breach compensation.
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Council data protection breaches are serious and highly sensitive

Data protection breaches committed by councils / local authorities – or the companies they outsource work to – can be unfortunately common. We advise and represent a large volume of people who have been the victim of a data breach caused by their local council, so we understand how bad they can be.

The serious council data protection breaches can cause a lot of problems for the victims, and given the nature of data that local authorities often hold – these type of breaches can be very sensitive indeed.
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Ex-soldier prosecuted for posting vulnerable adult’s sensitive data on Twitter

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has released the details of a prosecution and a police undertaking after private and sensitive information was intentionally leaked on social media platform Twitter.

William Godfrey from Kent had been in a relationship with a probation officer when he came into possession of a USB data stick containing sensitive data. He later tweeted some of the sensitive data on the USB device and threatened to release more data as well.

For their part, Surrey Police signed an undertaking to improve their data protection policies and procedures.
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Hugh Grant joins the list of celebrities whose cases against Trinity Mirror Group have settled for phone hacking

Actor Hugh Grant is said to have received a six-figure settlement sum as a victim of the infamous phone-hacking scandal involving Trinity Mirror Group.

Mr Grant reportedly condemned members of the Mirror outlets involved, including Piers Morgan, who was in charge at the time when the hacking took place but denies knowledge or involvement in the shameful and illegal behaviour.

This remains one of the most infamous cases of the misuse of private information that was attained by hacking into victims’ phones and voice-mails.
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