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56% of healthcare organisations plan on investing in data breach protection

A new survey reveals that many healthcare providers plan to invest in data breach protection. A recent study named IT Risks in Healthcare Infographics 2017 gathered information based on feedback provided by IT specialists working in healthcare organisations worldwide.

Off the back of breaches that have plagued the healthcare industry for years, many organisations may now be finally planning to invest more in data protection and cybersecurity.

It’s about time…
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MyHome Installations fined £50,000 for nuisance marketing calls

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has recently issued a monetary fine of £50,000 to a Maidstone firm for nuisance calls.

Nuisance marketing calls are split into 2 types: live marketing calls and automated marketing calls. They’re regulated by the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) 2003.

Live marketing calls shouldn’t be made to anyone who has registered with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS). The TPS is a service which allows individuals to block numbers from calling them. When organisations break the rules, they may incur hefty fines from the ICO.
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Boomerang Video Ltd fined £60,000 by the ICO for compromising user data over a cyberattack

Boomerang Video Ltd owns and controls an online website where customers can rent or buy video games through their payment web application. Users log in and have a choice of video games for various consoles that are physically sent to them and then returned to their warehouse after the customer has finished playing the game.

The online platform requires certain information for a customer to sign up to their services, including a username, password and bank details to pay the monthly subscription fee.

Unfortunately, their app was targeted in a cyberattack and was successfully hacked in December of 2014.
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PwC research shows that data breaches in 2016 doubled from previous year

Companies and organisations have a responsibility to keep data safe and secure in accordance with the Data Protection Act (DPA). Should they fail to do so, the U.K.’s privacy watchdog, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), can impose penalties accordingly.

Breaches are growing. We cover this concept a lot, because there appears to be no stopping the growth of leaks, hacks, and breaches. New research has shown data breaches have doubled on the previous year. It just seems to be getting worse and worse…
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Indian telecom operator warns businesses of the “real threat” of data breaches.

New Delhi based telecom operator Bharti Airtel has spoken out about the “real threat” data breaches cause to businesses and organisations.

The company say it prides itself in taking cyber security and customer privacy “very seriously”, India’s economic times reports. Airtel’s comments were prompted by a recent data breach that reportedly exposed an internet and telecom provider’s customer database, which may have been accessed by an unauthorised third party who uploaded the stolen information on an independent website called Magicapk.

This is relevant for us to keep an eye on here in the U.K. Data breaches abroad can affect us here too, and we know a lot of organisations outsource to countries like India. These worries should be at the forefront of all our minds.
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A-list celebrities dining preferences leaked

A mystery restaurant in the U.S. has recently leaked some of their guests’ notes and dining preferences.

Many restaurants use a digital POS system to make efficient table reservations and importantly to make notes about their guests. The restaurant in question is one where many A-list celebrities reportedly dine at, and you’d have thought that information about them would be kept secure given the nature of their clientele.

Apparently, this was not the case. Hannah Goldfield, an author for The New Yorker, was reportedly sent a spreadsheet from the restaurant in error containing around 30,000 entries about guests.
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Concept Car Credit Limited issued with an enforcement notice by the ICO for spam texts

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued Concept Car Credit Limited with an enforcement notice after the company was found to have sent out hundreds of thousands of spam text messages.

The ICO based the sanction on Data Protection legislation for breaching regulations under the EU Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulation (PECR).
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U.S. Congress struggle to come to a consensus on data breach reporting

They may not be the only ones given data breaches are increasing over here in the U.K. too; so will we follow suit?

There is no doubt that cyber-security is one of the top concerns for the developed world. In an age where almost everything is digitalised and connected to the internet, cybercriminals have the power to bankrupt a multi-billion dollar business enterprise, collapse global organisations and even cause untold chaos to governments.

Legislative governments across the world are having to vote in new laws and regulations to defend against cybercrime. Now, the U.S. Congress are coming up with all sorts of ideas on how best to combat cybercrime, including the best procedures for reporting data breaches.
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Is “military-grade” cyber-security required to combat data breaches?

Data breaches are at an ‘all-time high’. In this modern world where most things are done electronically and are connected to the internet, without sufficient cyber-security, our data is exposed to cybercriminals who can steal our money, spread our personal information around, and wreak havoc with our identities.

Whilst many encourage development of new applications and innovative software to help us share information at a click of a button, and pay our bills with a swipe of a finger, cyber-security is falling behind.

With the growing trend of breaches, what can we do to fully protect ourselves? Do we all need “military-grade” protection like our armed forced and government intelligence agencies do?
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WWE’s unprotected database – affecting over three million fans

Anger amongst WWE wrestling fans is thought to be rife after revelations that up to three million fans’ account information has been left unprotected and accessible on the Amazon cloud.

It’s thought that WWE is watched by 15 million fans each week in the U.S. alone. In 2016, they announced plans to expand to China, opening a potential fan base of 1.4 billion. It’s scary to think that an organisation as big as this and with so many fans could leave data belonging to three million people totally unsecured.

It’s one heck of a monumental data breach…
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