We focus on the latest news surrounding data breaches, leaks and hacks plus daily internet security articles.
Earlier this month, an apology was issued over the Southwark Council data leak, and the matter was brought to the attention of regulators.
The personal information of around 20 people was accidentally leaked as part of a Freedom of Information request. The request had asked for correspondence between council officials and Delancey, an asset management company.
The personal information had not been redacted, resulting in the leak. The Information Commissioner’s office (ICO) has been informed.
The Cornwall Council data breach was yet another email blunder where addresses and personal information was not masked in a mailshot
In the breach, an email about disabled children was sent to over 150 people relating to their max card scheme. The max card scheme is a scheme for discounts for foster families and families with disabled children.
In yet another email breach, the personal data and email addresses in the mailshot were exposed. Neither the BCC function or a mailing platform had been used to avoid the data breach. It may attract a GDPR-style fine given it took place after the new rules came into force.
The Ceredigion Council data breach showed the severity of a council data breach. Councils and local authorities hold a lot of personal and sensitive data about us.
Unfortunately, the Welsh council failed to uphold their important security responsibilities. It was discovered (a few weeks ago) that names, addresses and information about medical conditions was exposed on their website. The personal and sensitive documents had been left on the website and were accessible to anyone for 11 years, since 2007.
This is a serious data breach. Anyone affected can approach our legal team for advice today.
The Hastings Council data breach on the eve of the GDPR coming into force showed just how easy the human error element is.
The irony was that the breach involved an email being sent out with an opt-in or opt-out offer for compliance with the new GDPR. They sent the email on the eve of the new rules coming into force. It all seemed very sensible.
That was until it was realised that all the recipients’ information was visible to each other. Yes, that’s right. A GDPR information email was sent out that breached data protection rules itself. It was another simple case of avoidable human error.
You may be entitled to claim compensation as a victim of a council email breach, and our Data Leak Lawyers are here to help you.
A number of council email breaches have taken place over the years, and they can often happen by human error or software problems. Whatever the cause, they are often seen as systemic issues that can be easily resolvable, meaning the breaches should never have happened in the first place. For this reason, depending on the data breached, victims can be entitled to claim for data breach compensation.
If you have been affected by a city council data breach and you’re in need of data breach compensation advice and representation, we can help.
With the public sector often at the top of the tables in terms of the volume of data breaches, the impact for victims who suffer as a result of an incident like a city council data breach cannot be ignored. These organisations hold a great deal of personal and sensitive data about us, and it’s not only enough information to cause distress and alarm, but it can also lead to financial crimes like fraud and identity theft.
We take on a great deal of cases for public sector data breaches because of the severity of the impact they can have as well as the frequency of them occurring.
A council tax data breach can have devastating consequences for the victims involved, especially given that councils hold a lot of personal and sensitive data about us.
Incidents of a council tax data breach are not unheard of and a wealth of information – from people’s personal details to salary information – can be exposed. Council data breaches alone can be quite common given they fall within the umbrella of the public sector, where data breaches can be common.
Although it’s never nice to be the victim of a data breach, victims of a council tax data breach are entitled to claim for data breach compensation.
Third-party outsourcing can lead to a council data protection breach, and as the old saying goes, “you’re only as strong as your weakest link” – which means councils and local authorities are only as good as the private organisations they outsource work to.
This is important, because public sector data breaches are an ongoing problem, and councils can be a prime target for cyber-criminals as well as being vulnerable to leaks and breaches from inadequate procedures and policies.
With councils outsourcing work for the private sector a lot, there is understandable cause for concern.
There are allegations of a St Helens council data breach involving recently resigned council leader, Barrie Grunewald.
Any council data protection breach can be serious and can pave the way for legal cases for victims of such a breach; especially when it comes to the nature of the data councils hold. This incident, however, is a little unclear in terms of exactly what has happened.
Police are said to be investigating the alleged data breach which is thought to involve images from a group WhatsApp conversation between St Helens politicians which were allegedly obtained from a mobile phone and subsequently distributed. Mr Grunewald has said that the allegations are “spurious”, and police investigations remain ongoing.
Council data breaches and the GDPR that’s coming into force this month is a key topic for discussion. With councils and other public sector authorities often experiencing high levels of data breaches and data leaks, it’s imperative that enough attention is paid to the new regulations that could see organisations fined a heck of a lot more money for breaching data laws.
We take on and represent a lot of people for council data breaches, so we know how often they happen, and we know how bad they can be for the victims. Given the nature of the data that councils hold, any breach or leak can often be very serious for the victims who are entitled to claim for data protection breach compensation.
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