Welcome To The Data Leak Lawyers Blog

Should banks spy on our monthly income?

A Competition Watchdog has announced earlier this month that banks should share customer’s data in order help them find the best deal.

This has caused concern for privacy campaigners as our financial data is already widely shared, stored, and available anyway through various public and private bodies.

Most consumers think credit reference agencies only collect and collate data about our repayments and loans – but companies are instead cashing in on our data and selling it on, which can include all our transactions; every last one! Even something as small as paying a friend back for a meal!
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Volkswagen vulnerable to key hacking

As if Volkswagen haven’t already been in hot water enough because of the emissions scandal, it has now been discovered that millions of Volkswagen vehicles are reportedly prone to theft by hacking.

This is because the keyless entry system can reportedly be hacked, with vehicles that have been sold since 1995 being at risk.
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Healthcare industry at the heart of most data breaches

Healthcare data breaches are the most common – which is unfortunate because of the sensitivity of the information that can often be leaked or hacked.

The NHS has a wealth of information about us. Due to how much information they have on us, data breaches by the NHS can be a major concern. One of the most frustrating things about NHS data leaks is that we are required to share so much of our personal information with them.

Unlike businesses, we arguably have more of an option to how much information we choose to share with them, when it comes to sharing information with the NHS, it’s more out of necessity – we share some of our most personal information with the healthcare industry.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) did a report on data security, and their findings highlighted just how frequent healthcare industry data breaches takes place.
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How vulnerable are Smart City transport systems to being hacked?

American photojournalist Lori Nichols was driving down the highway near Atlantic City close to midnight when she snapped a picture of a free standing temporary road sign. On the lit up road sign, instead of the normal “work ahead” or “slow down”, the sign instead read the word “poop”.

The sign had been like that for several hours. When she reported it to the police station in the morning, she was told other people had also called it in.

While the pranksters only wrote “poop” on the sign, it does raise the question as to how easy it was to gain access to an unlocked panel at the back of the sign. Instead of writing what they did, they could have written something that could have created an entirely different scenario. Something warning of a serious incident, or perhaps a threat that could have sparked a very different response…
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Health apps – could your data be breached?

Apps are being created all the time that allow people to monitor their health and fitness. By monitoring our health, it allows people to have a greater control on their life.

But are we exposing ourselves to data breaches when using these apps? How secure is our data really?
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South Central Ambulance Service staff data breach in 2013

If you have yet to claim as a victim of this breach, time is running out – contact us now!

The personal data of thousands of ambulance service staff was accidentally published online back in 2013, which was one of the worst breaches of its time.

South Central Ambulance Service published the age, sexuality, and religion of almost 30,000 ambulance staff members – a serious breach of data protection regulations.

The Information Commissioner’s Office investigated the claim once it was revealed by a BBC Radio Berkshire Freedom of Information request to the service.

2,826 staff members who were employed by the organisation that covers Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire and Berkshire in October 2013.
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Looking Back: Islington Council resident data breach October 2015

Last year, Islington Council accidentally published residents personal details on their public website.

This lead to Town hall bosses having to apologise yet again over another data breach on the back of three previous ones in recent years that cost the taxpayer £100,000.

The council received a phone call from a resident who had discovered the data breach after going online to pay a penalty charge only to notice copies of the residents information had been uploaded onto the council website.
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Are fitness trackers leaking personal data?

Many people have fitness trackers. You can have them on your Smartphone, tablets, and smart watches.

These trackers can allow everyone to monitor their fitness levels whilst on the go. However, despite fitness trackers being useful, its been reported that they may contain security weaknesses which allow hackers access to data.

This somewhat takes the shine off these useful devices if users are vulnerable to data leaks!
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Victim awarded £75,000 after police disclose her details without consent

A woman received a £75,000 settlement after Greater Manchester Police disclosed her personal information without her consent.

In 2014 the woman agreed that details of the domestic abuse she suffered from a former partner could be used in training sessions for officers and support agencies on the basis that her information would be anonymous.

It was later discovered, however, that her identity and medical history was disclosed in full. This was also disclosed to a wider audience. A recording of a 999 call was played as well, where she had called for help after an assault.
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Employees of Google, Samsung and Apple suffer data breach

Employee accounts of Google, Samsung, and Apple along with other tech firms have apparently had their accounts hacked.

This information comes from the Khronos website. Supposedly the hackers hacked into a forum that was often used by the developers for things such as game development. Others that are allegedly victims of the hack include Toshiba, Sony Ericsson, IBM, EA, Intel, Panasonic and VMWare.

More companies may have had employee accounts stolen as well.
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