Welcome To The Data Leak Lawyers Blog

Whistle-blowers reveal Indian call centre scammers targeting TalkTalk customers following massive data breach

Several whistle-blowers have come forward to disclose details of an alleged intricate scamming operation set up in India to target TalkTalk customers.

The unnamed whistle-blowers told a BBC reporter that they were employed by a gang of professional fraudsters to trick TalkTalk customers into revealing personal information and provide access to their bank accounts.
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“Spying in schools becoming the norm” – More than 1,000 schools use software to monitor their students online use

Child safety and security has been at the apex for years, but it’s questionable as to whether it has been the case at the expense of data protection rights.

Some data privacy campaigners argue that school surveillance goes beyond what is necessary and may actually breach data protection rights of the children.

It’s never been easier to keep an eye on people with technology these days – so are schools going too far?
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What to do if a debt recovery company has leaked my private information

As a hard-and-fast rule, companies have a responsibility under the Data Protection Act (DPA) to use and store sensitive information correctly. Although the law is there, not all organisations successfully uphold the regulations they’re supposed to.

So, in this example, what can you do if a debt recover company has leaked your private information? Do you have a valid claim for Data Leak Compensation?
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Sports Direct yet again under fire after reportedly hiding a data breach that compromised 30,000 employees’ personal data.

Information authorities and security experts are reportedly appalled by the way Sports Direct handled a data breach that happened back in September of last year. Apparently, they never actually told their employees about it; leaving them to find out on the news!
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Two former employees were fined by the ICO for misusing personal information

Two former employees who worked at a UK based claims management company illegally obtained information from a car hire company and then used this information to blag calls to an insurance company to illegally obtain personal information of drivers.

They did this in order to try and sell this personal information to solicitors. We ourselves have never bought claims, and never will!

The information included policy holders information and their recent and/or historic road traffic accidents. Within that information, the policy holders’ names, addresses, and contact details would likely have been accessed too.
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November of 2016 saw the largest number of data breach incidents

2016 was a big year for changes.

From Brexit and Trump, to a wave of celebrity legends departing our lives, 2016 was one heck of a bumpy road; and we saw some of the most notable data breaches in history around the world. With the online world ever advancing, we can’t seem to keep up. Cyber hackers have been constantly coming up with new methods to break down security walls to wreak havoc and fear, and leaks are almost becoming a norm.
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Hundreds of NHS patients may have suffered serious harm from 500,000 data breaches

Although we value and treasure our National Health Service – who for the most part do a wonderful job of looking after us – they are responsible for significant amounts of data breaches. In fact, they’re way ahead when compared to everyone else, and it’s a real issue because the information they secure for us is often very sensitive and personal.

Unfortunately, we have to report yet another serious data breach story involving the NHS.

It has been revealed that the NHS has lost more than 500,000 pieces of patient information between 2011 and 2016. This may have led to hundreds of NHS patients suffering serious harm as a result.
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Ripples from the 2013 Target data breach

Data breaches have been on an upward rise for as long as I can remember, and the Target breach back in December 2013 was a part of that trend.

Between 27 November and 15 December 2013, U.S. retailer Target was subject to one of the biggest hacks that the industry has seen. Around 40 million customers’ credit/debit card information was breached; 70 million customer records were stolen; 1 to 3 million cards were sold and used in fraudulent transactions; £163 million was spent on reissuing cards that were compromised; and an estimated £46.8 million went straight into the cyber-criminals’ pockets. Monumental!
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Trio of data thieves have been prosecuted and fined over £400,000

A gang of three data thieves were charged and prosecuted by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) earlier this year for unlawfully obtaining personal data at their employment, and then selling it onto claim management companies.

Andrew Minty, Jamie Leong and Michelle Craddock – all employees of Enterprise-Rent-A-Car – conspired to steal customer information so they could sell on the personal information to third party claims management companies. They sold the information on the basis that the claims management company would then use the personal data and information to make nuisance calls to the individuals.
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Two people sentenced for 12 months after leaking confidential information

If you thought breaching confidential information would earn you a slap on the wrist and nothing more, you thought wrong.

Recently, two people from a claims management company and an insurance company were jailed for 12 months following a serious data breach. Data is a sensitive and valuable commodity, and the punishments for failing to protect information should be strict.
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