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Newcastle City Council leaks sensitive information on thousands of adopted children

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is investigating Newcastle City Council after a data breach exposed the personal information of adopted children.

The north-eastern council has recently come under fire for the breach that saw the personal information of 2,743 adopted children – information which included sensitive data about the children, and included data on parents, social workers and former adoptees – sent out in an email by mistake.
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UniCredit data breach puts 400,000 customers at risk

Based in Milan, UniCredit Banca is the largest bank in Italy whilst maintaining a global reach with its banking and financial services. Unfortunately, the bank was subject to two security breaches that may have compromised hundreds of thousands of customers’ information.

It’s believed that hackers may have stolen personal data and certain financial information. Customer account numbers may be compromised but UniCredit has assured the public that account passwords were not accessed and therefore unauthorised transactions cannot be made.

Or so we hope…
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How data breaches can destroy trust!

In the U.K., companies, organisations and individuals are bound by Data Protection legislation to handle and store personal data safely and securely.

Today, almost all personal data is digitalised in one way or another. From transferring money on our online banking accounts to posting a picture on our social media platforms, we’re constantly using the internet to store and share information. In return, we expect our banks and social media platforms to keep that information safe.

Unfortunately, where there is data, breaches will always be a threat.
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Avanti self-service food vending kiosks hacked

U.S. payment kiosk vendor, Avanti Markets, recently fell victim to a malware scam. The U.S. kiosk vendor’s innovation is to take away counter services and replace them with an all-serving vending machine that covers whole sandwiches, fruit, drinks and junk food with one payment system.
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How much does a data breach cost?

Data breaches are not a new phenomenon; they’ve been around for a long time. That being said, they’re certainly on the rise at the moment, and the costs for companies dealing with the fallout of a data breach continue to grow.

Technology and the use of the internet has vastly grown in recent times, yet companies continually lack decent security while making more and more use of digital technology. It’s a backwards concept when you think about it. You’d want to install a quality house alarm if you started collecting rare and expensive memorabilia, as an example.

So, how much does a data breach cost?
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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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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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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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