Welcome To The Data Leak Lawyers Blog

HBO to produce multiple endings for Game of Thrones series to throw off leakers

Is this what we have to do nowadays to prevent the problems caused by leaks and hacks? Is this really what we need to stoop to?

It seems so…

The popular HBO network was recently hacked and had an incredible 1.5 terabytes of unreleased footage, scripts and other sensitive documents leaked. In a bid to prevent spoilers from being released, HBO are reportedly creating multiple endings to the popular TV show, Game of Thrones; and who can blame them, I guess?
read more

By Author

Aetna sued for revealing HIV statuses of 12,000 patients

Health insurer, Aetna Inc, is being sued for a serious oversight that reportedly revealed the HIV status of around 12,000 patients when a letter was sent out to customers with large clear windows that referenced HIV medication.

It’s a monumental blunder that’s similar to the London sexual health clinic, 56 Dean Street breach, where an email was sent to over 700 patients with names and email addresses for recipients visible. We act for a large proportion of the people claiming in that action.

The clear window is of course intended to be clear, so the address is shown for posting, but this doesn’t change the fact that the letter clearly hadn’t been properly planned out given that private medical information was visible too.
read more

By Author

Employees reportedly need updated data security training

As technology in industry improves, many employees are being provided with more and more advanced devices and software to help for a more efficient workplace. From unified portals to mobile devices, employees are often given shiny new tools to work with all the time; but do they know how to use them safely?

A significant proportion of data breaches can result from employee mistakes: from accidental emails being sent, to uploading information online, and hackers targeting vulnerabilities to gain entry into customer databases. Cybersecurity experts have long identified employees as one of the weakest links when it comes to securing data in organisations.
read more

By Author

Can you stop your Wi-Fi getting hacked?

Experts are suggesting that people should start taking steps to protect their Wi-Fi from being hacked. Because once hackers are in, they’ll have access to any device that’s connected to the Wi-Fi – including your phone, laptop, smart TV, iPad, Tablet, games console… any device at all.

So, what steps should you be taking?

“I” newspaper recently covered this and offered some advice for keeping your Wi-Fi safe from intrusion.
read more

By Author

Security flaw leaves cars vulnerable to being hacked

Researchers say they’ve discovered a security flaw that can affect any vehicle featuring “controller area network” systems – AKA a “CAN bus” – which is basically the network that interconnects components in a car. The “CAN bus” interconnects things like parking assist features, electric windows, and engine control units.

Researchers say hackers can access the connection and bombard it with error messages until the system shuts down to protect its other components. An attacker can therefore theoretically switch off safety features like airbags, ABS brakes, power steering or perhaps even lock someone out of their car.
read more

By Author

Hackers release names of professional footballers who allegedly failed drug tests

Hackers have reportedly released information on professional footballers who have allegedly failed drug tests registered by UK Anti-Doping (UKad) agency, as well as information about which footballers have been given Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUEs) for otherwise banned medications during the 2010 World Cup.

Famous names include ex-Premier League players Carlos Tevez, Dirk Kuyt and Gabriel Heinze.

Another 21 professional footballers were named as having TUEs.
read more

By Author

‘Park By Text’ customers may have been impacted by data breach

The mobile parking service – Park By Text – allows users of certain car parks to pay on their smartphones have announced they’ve been subject to a cyberattack, and customers may have had personal information stolen as a result.

Park By Text reportedly discovered malicious software in their systems after a service outage. The company says they do not think any customer information was stolen, but “cannot say this with 100% certainty at this stage”, or at least until investigations come to a close.
read more

By Author

Security experts call for faster detection of data breaches

Data breaches seem to be constantly in the news and they seem to be getting bigger, more frequent and more sophisticated.

So, can anything be done to stop them?

While there may be no definitive method to stop all data breaches completely, there are steps which can be taken to help detect them quicker. Of course, it would be preferable to prevent them from happening in the first place, but security experts like Paul White recognise that detection is an imperative part of cybersecurity as well.
read more

By Author

2017 sees a record high in data breaches

It’s not unusual for us to blog about the continual rise of data breaches. It’s a hot topic, and the trend is undeniably worrying.

2017 has reportedly seen a record high in data breaches, and there’s no signs of slowing down.

Cybersecurity specialists Risk Base Security conducted a mid-year report, and the results are staggering. As of June 30^th, there have been 2,227 public data breaches reported. In just six months, a whopping 6 billion records were stolen; that’s reportedly more than the number of stolen records for the whole of 2016.
read more

By Author

Data breaches are on the rise and statistics show it will only get worse

In the past few years, we’ve seen an unprecedented rise in data breaches and there are no signs that things are slowing down.

Statistics show that every year we see more and more data breaches, which can only make us wonder; can we ever be truly safe from a data breach?

With the number of data breaches and the staggering volume of personal information compromised with every breach, it’s probably safe to say that most of us will have some kind of information exposed at some point; and probably more than once.
read more

By Author