Welcome To The Data Leak Lawyers Blog

Lynda.com, owned by LinkedIn and Microsoft, fell victim to a data breach which lost 55,000 passwords

Lynda.com – a subsidiary company of LinkedIn – has recently sent out an email to 9.5 million users to warn them of a data breach.

Although not all 9.5 million users’ data was apparently breached, the online learning company has been keen to alert all users of the breach “out of an abundance of caution”. The database that was accessed included contact information and courses that the users viewed, and a LinkedIn spokesperson also revealed that around 55,000 passwords were in the breached database.
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British Heart Foundation fined for secretly screening donor’s information for targeting most generous

The British Heart Foundation Charity secretly screened thousands of their donors to target the most generous ones for further donations. As a result of their behaviour, they have been given a monetary fine by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

Although the first thing that springs to mind is the fact that we’re talking about a charity here, we must always remember that no one is above the law – a fact that the ICO had to recognise when investigating their behaviour.
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ThyssenKrupp’s trade secrets stolen in cyber-hack

One of the largest global steel manufacturers, ThyssenKrupp, has revealed that their company has been hit by cyber-hackers and may have had sensitive trade secrets stolen.

In February last year, cyber-hackers gained access to the German manufacturer’s computer system and managed to go undetected for three months. It wasn’t until April that ThyssenKrupp’s internal security team detected the hack. According to the manufacturer’s spokesperson, the management board was informed “at once” and he notes that the hack was detected quite quickly.
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IoT devices will be subject to the most cyber-attacks in 2017

CSO Online, an online community that offers data protection advice, has highlighted that smart gadget devices – like the Apple Watch, or smart boiler controls – will be the next in line in for big cyber-attacks.

As the world continues to develop technological crazes, the cybersecurity to match technological development is questionable, and attention is turning on to the Internet of Things (IoT) devices. These devices have been praised by technology enthusiasts as it gives us greater control over door locks, lights, and appliances, as well as streamlining businesses and ultimately making the user’s life a lot easier.

At the same time, it’s drawn a lot of criticism because these devices could allow opportunities for hackers to attack.
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Famous trading card company ‘Topps’ hit by second hack inside a year!

Popular trading card company Topps has been hit with an ‘unforgivable’ hack, according to BBC News sources.

The majority of data hacks come as a surprise, but not necessarily this one. According to one security researcher, the company had been warned about security weaknesses prior to the hack, and seem to have done very little to defend themselves from what appeared to be obvious security risks.
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NHS admin worker guilty of illegally accessing sensitive medical records of friends and family

The Information Commissioners Office (ICO) has given a former NHS administrator a fine for illegally accessing sensitive medical records of people they know.

Whilst working at the Tees Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust, the former admin worker took advantage of their position and searched for medial information on their friends and family without their consent. The former admin worker pleaded guilty to breaching s55 of the Data Protection Act. The ICO consequently issued a fine and have also ordered them to pay costs and a victim surcharge.
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ICO issues fine for historical society who had a laptop containing donor information stolen

The Information Commissioners Office (ICO) has reported that a historical society has breached data protection laws when one of its work laptops were stolen.

An employee was using it away from the workplace and had set it down in an undisclosed location when a break-in occurred, and the laptop – among other things – was stolen. The laptop, purchased by the historical society, contained sensitive personal information of artefact donors.

The ICO did not further explain exactly what information this included.
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Multinational hotel chain hit by data breach: credit and debit data stolen!

A couple of days after Christmas, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) admitted that a number of their 5,000 hotels around the globe had been affected by a data breach.

It was reported that debit and credit information may have been stolen.

Some customers who visited those affected hotels have already reported fraudulent transactions on their bank accounts. Unfortunately, this New Year might not be the fresh start many were hoping for.
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“Spam marketing has landed Nouveau Finance a £70,000 fine” – Companies who use personal data for spam purposes remain in the ICO’s firing line

Aren’t marketing text messages one of the most irritating things?

Well, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has thankfully penalised a company for abusing text marketing powers. The issue with this batch of marketing messages is that it was done using personal information for marketing purposes without proper consent, and therefore constituted as a breach of the law.
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“Unsolicited marketing calls have landed a legal firm a £30,000 fine” – Assist Law Ltd used private information solely to make unsolicited marketing calls

Assist Law Limited has been hit with a monetary penalty from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for making unsolicited marketing phone calls to people who were registered with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS).

The Weston Super Mare legal firm felt the force of the ICO who imposed the monetary penalty for making the phone calls for marketing purposes over a period of a year.
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