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After compromising over 145 million people’s financial data records, Equifax responds by producing an app…

Equifax have faced heavy criticism for a series of failings around the data breach that exposed over 145 million people’s personal data records, with almost 700,000 Brits caught up in the scandal. It was bad enough that a company responsible for credit referencing was easily hacked, especially given that the hack was down to Equifax failing to patch a known security vulnerability.

Their handling of the breach has been heavily criticised by authorities, experts and regulators. There are allegations of delays and failures to report the breach; an arguably dangerous website set up for people to check whether they were affected (which fraudsters can copy to lure people to give away information); and now an app, which is arguably one of worst offenders in terms of breaches and leaks of information.
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Nursing and Midwifery Council dismisses NHS midwife for snooping on medical records

A ‘nosy’ midwife has been sacked by the University Hospitals of Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust after she was discovered to have viewed confidential medical records belonging to friends, colleagues and other acquaintances.

Thirty-eight-year-old Vicky Anne Bloxham lost her job as a midwife for the illegal snooping carried out between 2002 and 2016.

In 2016 alone, Bloxham reportedly reviewed the medical records of some 45 friends and acquaintances without authorisation, with one person’s records accessed 13 times in a four-month period.
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USB device containing confidential Heathrow Airport data found miles away on a London residential street

Confidential and secretive information for Heathrow Airport was reportedly found on a USB device some 13 miles from the site in a random London neighbourhood, prompting questions over the quality of the U.K.’s airport security.

The data on the device was also found to have had no encryption and wasn’t even password-protected; arguably the most rudimentary security measure that should be implemented for any type of information worth protecting.

How confidential data concerning the U.K.’s largest airport – and potentially a huge target for terrorist attacks – could be removed in this manner is incredibly worrisome.
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Australian ‘Amazing Rentals’ uploads thousands of personal documents online

Australian appliance-rental company, Amazing Rentals, are in trouble with Australian authorities yet again for behaviour that has prompted government discussions over the need to crack down on bad business behaviour.

Around mid-September this year, the Guardian reported that Amazing Rentals “published 26,000 personal documents involving 4,000 customers on the internet.” No further information was provided as to what the details included, but clear concerns were aired over identity theft and credit fraud.

The Australian Information Commissioner’s Office shut down Amazing Rental’s website shortly thereafter and warned the retailer’s customers to take precautions against identity theft and other forms of fraud.
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Businesses need to communicate more about their data breaches; before and after they happen.

Data breaches can be very embarrassing for a business. Being attacked by hackers can undermine the control the business has over its own systems and databases, and it can hamper the loyalty of their customers.

The embarrassment can be even worse if the data breach occurred as a result of an employee error.

After a data breach, the trends we witness for an affected business vary depending on how a breach is handled… For businesses that try to conceal a breach and are found out via other channels the backlash can be brutal as share prices drop, customers leave to do business elsewhere and the reputation of the brand takes a battering in the media.
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Are British businesses sweeping data breaches under the carpet?

With the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) looming, it seems that British businesses may have a long way to go when it comes to straightening up to comply with the new European regulations.

They come in to force in May next year – the clock is ticking!

It appears that firms in Britain may reportedly have a culture of keeping data breaches a secret and not reporting them; perhaps for fear of repercussions or simply because they don’t know what to do. But such behaviour simply will not do…
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66% of small-to-medium businesses could “shut down” in the event of a data breach

Computer Antivirus provider Vipre recently conducted a study to see how small-to-medium businesses (SMB) would be impacted by a data breach.

The findings were startling – they indicated that, in the event of a data breach, up to two-thirds of these companies could either go out of business completely or have to shut down for at least one day.

Practically, this is very concerning.
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Yet another NHS worker fined for accessing sensitive medical records without authorisation

It seems the NHS can’t keep its staff under control as yet another worker has been found guilty of accessing sensitive medical records without authorisation.

Linda Reeves reportedly abused her position as a former data coordinator with access to the Trust’s patient database by rifling through medical records belonging to colleagues, friends and neighbours. She did not have any consent or authorisation from patients or her employer as the data controller.

Reeves has since resigned from her job at The University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust.
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Nottinghamshire County Council fined £70,000 for leaving data belonging to vulnerable people exposed for 5 years

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) issued Nottinghamshire County Council a fine of £70,000.00 for leaving sensitive personal data exposed online for half a decade.

The watchdog discovered the council’s ‘Home Care Allocation System’ (HCAS) was shared with care home providers using a simple link that did not require a username or a password.

The system contained a lot of personal information belonging to prospective and current care home users. Created in July 2011, the council was finally alerted to the security risk when a member of the public searched for HCAS online in June 2016 and found files readily accessible and completely unrestricted.
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Leicester city council worker fined for stealing sensitive personal data to use for his own business

Nilesh Morar worked for Leicester City Council in the Adult Social Care Department where he reportedly stole a wealth of personal sensitive data for personal financial gain.

He reportedly took the information belonging to vulnerable people without the Council’s knowledge or permission.

After he stole the personal data, Morar left his job with the Council to set up his own business, so the motives for stealing the data seem quite apparent.
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