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We focus on the latest news surrounding data breaches, leaks and hacks plus daily internet security articles.
We focus on the latest news surrounding data breaches, leaks and hacks plus daily internet security articles.
A recent Charnwood council data breach incident has been reported to the UK’s data watchdog, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
The victims of the data breach have also been informed as to what has happened, and the local authority has apologised for the breach.
This is another case of private information being accidentally uploaded online. We represent a large number of people who are claiming for council data breach compensation because of how often incidents can happen, and accidental leaks are unfortunately common. This latest incident doesn’t come as a surprise to us, but it ought to have been prevented in the first place.
As tech moves more and more into cyberspace, cloud data breaches are on the rise, and we expect they may keep rising as well.
But why aren’t they secure in the first place, and what can you do if you’re the victim of a cloud data breach incident?
There can be a number of reasons as to how cloud data breaches happen. One of the questions that victims of a data breach may ask is who their legal case needs to be against: the organisation responsible for your data, or the cloud provider. Either way, you may be able to make a claim for data breach compensation when your data is breached, hacked or leaked as a result of the use of cloud software.
You may be entitled to make a claim for compensation if you are the victim of a human error data breach incident.
In fact, some of the biggest group action and individual cases we’re fighting for justice in were caused by simple human errors. Many of the human errors committed are preventable, and it’s this key factor that means you can be entitled to make a claim.
Don’t assume that you can’t claim because a person is responsible (or partially responsible) for a data breach. The organisations who employee people can be vicariously liable for the actions of their employee. This means that the blame can be squarely with the employer!
Some 5 million HMRC voice ID records are to be deleted after regulators ruled that a “significant” breach of data protection law had taken place over the use of the “my voice is my password” system.
The UK’s data watchdog, the ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office), has given the government until next month to remove data collected without proper content from millions of taxpayers. Although some people have since opted in for the system, the data for those collected and retained without proper consent is to be removed.
The issue has raised concerns over the government’s own ability to adhere to important data protection laws, with the ICO critical of HMRC’s behaviour.
The Windrush data breach incident that happened on 7th April 2019 has forced changes to be adopted by the Home Office following the leak of information surrounding the compensation scheme.
Earlier this month, mass emails were sent out to people taking part in the Windrush compensation scheme, as well as other interested parties. Emails were reportedly sent out in batches of 100, and the first five batches are understood to have resulted in a data breach. Yet again, this was another case where recipients of the email could see each other’s information.
This kind of incident has happened so many times before, and it triggered one of the more severe compensation actions we’re involved ion; the 56 Dean Street Clinic leak. Changes are now set to be made.
Facebook user records exposed again! In yet another data breach that’s hit the social media giants, data for millions of users has been found on a publicly-accessible Amazon server.
This is one in a growing line of recent Facebook data breach incidents that has plagued the tech giants in recent years. This appears to be another case of third-party developers being responsible for the incident as well. It’s understood that the leaks involve Cultura Colectiva, a media firm, and an app named At The Pool.
Some of the data that has been exposed in this leak is worrying. It’s yet another warning about the dangers of sharing Facebook account information via apps and plugins. Facebook themselves cannot avoid responsibility for these incidents either.
There has been a prosecution for a worrying Nuneaton and Bedworth Council data breach that’s an example of how employees can exploit the data they can access.
In this incident, former head of building control at the council, Kevin Bunsell, shared personal information about job applications with his partner. His partner had applied for the same job that the candidates whose data was shared had applied for, and she won the position.
Although we can only speculate as to the motives, we can assume that the reasons for sharing the data were to assist his partner in securing the position which she was eventually awarded.
An issue that has led to a number of NHS fax data breach incidents has been reported, after mix-ups with a similar fax number has led to information going astray.
NHS data breach compensation cases are some of the more common types of claims our expert team help people with. A lot of the data breaches are caused by such simple errors that can be easily avoided. Despite this, they happen way too frequently.
The news of the fax mix ups is another example of this and comes to light after the accidental recipients of the data contacted NHS England about the incidents.
The NHS fax data breach issue reportedly stems from GP surgeries and pharmacies accidentally sending data to the wrong number. The number they have been sending information to in some cases belongs to a hotel group who has then been receiving the faxes incorrectly.
Some of the data that has been sent to the wrong fax number includes medication requests, certificates and dispensing vouchers.
It’s understood that the fax number for the hotel group is similar to the ones used to send information within the healthcare system. The hotel group has notified the Corporate Information Governance Team for NHS England.
As a result of these NHS fax data breach issues, NHS England has reportedly reminded GP surgeries and pharmacies about the importance of checking numbers. As some have recently called for a move away from faxes and pagers within the NHS, it’s claimed that this fax system is apparently the only way of sending this data within the healthcare system.
It sounds like something needs to change.
Any medical data breach can cause a huge amount of distress to the victims. When we see these simple errors over incredibly personal and sensitive data, it’s clear to us that more needs to be done.
As a firm of lawyers who specialise in data leak cases, we know how bad a breach can be for the victim. It’s important for these simple and avoidable data breaches are stamped out.
NHS England has ruled in an investigation into a Worcester GP data breach after previous findings suggested that the law had not been broken.
In this unusual case, the Severn Valley Medical Practice reportedly posted information online about a patient. Initially, the Practice is understood to have disputed that any data protection breach had occurred. Since then, NHS England and the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) both agree that the incident was a failure to comply with data protection obligations.
Another element that makes this case unusual is about allegations made surrounding the Data Protection Officer (DPO) who reportedly claimed there wasn’t a breach in the first place.
A recent report has highlighted concerns over the threat of an Anglesey Council data breach incident after risks were identified as part of an internal audit.
The audit results indicated a need for improvement when it comes to Anglesey Council’s IT network. At least two risks identified as “major” were also reported, and the report is said to have confirmed that there was only “reasonable assurance” that their systems were safe from potential breach incidents.
With council data breach compensation claims being one of the more common types of cases we help people with, the growing numbers of threats and actual breaches local authorities are facing is a problem that needs to be resolved.
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