We focus on the latest news surrounding data breaches, leaks and hacks plus daily internet security articles.
A constable at Derbyshire Police has recently faced a misconduct hearing over allegations of unlawfully accessing records of a police incident and then sharing a photo of the file with colleagues.
Although the officer’s actions contravened policing standards and data protection law, he has escaped dismissal and will be allowed to continue serving at Derbyshire Police.
Regardless of the verdict of the hearing, a breach such as this should never have occurred at all. Testaments to the officer’s reportedly “excellent” work as an officer do not erase his culpability for what has been regarded as an incredibly reckless action. As an organisation with access to extensive personal data, the police service has a vital duty to be rigorous in data protection and we should all feel safe that our information with them is secure. Our trust in the police should never be abused.
Following a two-year investigation into credit reference agencies, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has taken enforcement action against Experian. It was ruled that the company must make “fundamental changes to how it handles people’s personal data”, according to the ICO.
The investigation examined three credit agencies, of which Experian is the only one to reportedly face punitive action for data handling they carry out for direct marketing purposes.
Experian is understood to have taken some steps towards improving their data handling, but it was not enough to satisfy the ICO that data protection law was being adhered to. It is reassuring to know that Experian must make changes, and demonstrates to other companies that any sidestepping of the GDPR will not be tolerated by regulators.
In a serious misstep at East Devon Council, the passwords of 37 council members were reportedly exposed online to other councillors, leaving private email inboxes potentially vulnerable to unauthorised access.
The error was quickly corrected, with affected councillors resetting their passwords. However, the period of vulnerability could have caused leaks of confidential information, which is why this is a serious matter.
Despite local authorities’ important responsibility to their communities and residents, we see data breaches happening far too frequently at local councils, suggesting that many are still failing to take their data protection duties seriously. At Your Lawyers – The Data Leak Lawyers – we believe that failures when it comes to data protection law justifies legal action, as many of these local authorities need to develop more rigorous data protection measures to protect people’s information. Where they fail to do so, we are here to help.
Another travel industry data breach has recently hit the headlines, with the popular airline IT provider SITA suffering a monumental cyberattack. The SITA data breach is thought to have exposed information belonging to hundreds of thousands of passengers.
Among the affected airlines are those owned by Star Alliance, the world’s largest airline group, and British Airways is also affected. Some of the thousands of clients that we represent for the 2018 BA data breaches have already come forward for our assistance.
The travel industry has been plagued by data breaches, with companies such as Marriott and easyJet falling prey to significant hacks in recent years. The wealth of information that is held by airlines and travel companies makes them prime targets for cybercriminals, and the effects can be devastating for those affected.
A prestigious golf club in Surrey recently fell prey to a cyberattack in which hackers reportedly accessed the personal data of 4,000 members. Victims were notified of the Wentworth Golf Club hack on 15th January in an email sent from Neil Coulson, who is understood to be the general manager at the Club.
We have already taken a number of cases on and we are offering to represent people affected on a No Win, No Fee basis.
While the club may have assured members that there is not a significant risk to victims, the data exposure could be sufficient enough to leave affected members vulnerable and distressed. If you were affected and you wish to claim compensation, please do not hesitate to contact us now.
In October last year, Hackney Council announced a data breach after suffering what was described as a severe cyberattack from an unknown source. In the ensuing confusion, the council joined forces with the National Cyber Security Centre in an endeavor to judge the scale of the attack and find its source. It has since been revealed that hackers may have published files that reportedly come from exposed Hackney Council data.
The news is undoubtedly unnerving to those affected, and no one can be sure whether their data has been affected or not. As Hackney Council struggles to get a handle on the breach, leading firm Your Lawyers – The Data Leak Lawyers – are taking on claims for anyone who may have been affected by the leak.
Although data breach claims are becoming an increasingly established and important area of legal expertise, trusted data breach lawyers can still be few and far between.
There are some inexperienced firms trying to capitalise on the trend of data breach cases, claiming to have expertise that they do not possess. This is something to watch out for, and it is disappointing to see so many inexperienced companies and disreputable scammers taking advantage of claimants for gain.
At Your Lawyers – The Data Leak Lawyers – we have a long-established reputation for handling data breach cases. We are currently sitting on the Steering Committee responsible for conducting the first GDPR group action case in the UK, against British Airways. We have been fighting for the rights of data breach victims as far back 2014, which is a great deal longer than most other firms.
The Surveillance Camera Commissioner, Tony Porter, has recently spoken of his concerns regarding the technology used by local councils and the police to monitor public movements.
As the government watchdog designed to ensure government compliance with the surveillance camera code of practice, it is worrying that the commissioner believes the restrictions on local authorities may not be sufficient.
In particular, Mr Porter reportedly warned that the use of Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras is unregulated by central government, likening their usage to MI5 tracking. In fact, the security services are subject to much tighter restrictions, while the level of surveillance led by councils and the police appears to be going under the radar.
At Your Lawyers – The Data Leak Lawyers – we always advocate for personal privacy, so it is worrying that the government may be unnecessarily storing data and information pertaining to members of the public.
A recent fault in the Airbnb website has provoked worries among property hosts, who noticed a login failure that reportedly directed users to the message inboxes of other hosts. The Airbnb data glitch appears to have only been brought to the attention of the company by their users, who discussed the issue on a Reddit forum.
A popular accommodation rental marketplace for holidaymakers, Airbnb downplayed the glitch, and the amount of affected hosts was not immediately confirmed. But such a glitch is concerning as it can expose private and personal information. This can raise fair questions over the security of the company’s systems and its adherence to data protection regulations.
While Airbnb said that the glitch was a small-scale, stand-alone incident, at Your Lawyers – The Data Leak Lawyers – we know that even seemingly elementary errors can be disastrous. If an organisation ever fails to sufficiently protect your data, they may have breached the GDPR, and you could be entitled to claim compensation.
While large-scale data breaches are often the ones that hit the headlines, the reported Sheffield Council data breaches represent an example of how individual data breaches can build up and amount to significant information being exposed.
Over the course of 2019 and 2020, Sheffield City Council is understood to have recorded a total of 231 incidents, 92 of which were breaches involving personal data.
At the Your Lawyers – T/A the Data Leak Lawyers – we have been representing clients in privacy cases since 2014 as a leading firm of data breach compensation lawyers. We believe that councils must be held accountable for any inadequacies when it comes to data protection, so we are here to help you with council data breach compensation claims now.
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