We focus on the latest news surrounding data breaches, leaks and hacks plus daily internet security articles.
It has been quite a busy time for the European’s Article 29 Data Protection Working Party (WP29). After writing an open letter to Yahoo addressing the data breach which caused over 500 million users personal details to be stolen, the WP29 has also written to WhatsApp.
The concern surrounds the change in WhatsApp’s privacy settings, where it allowed Facebook to access their users’ data.
Is this an infringement?
read more
Following the massive Yahoo data leak – which involved over 500 million user accounts being accessed – the EU’s Article 29 Data Protection Working Party (WP29) has put tremendous pressure on the multinational technology company to explain the breach.
This can only be a good thing – these mass data breach organisations need to be held to account, and need to be robustly questioned on how they have managed to allow such breaches to happen!
read more
There are fresh concerns that open data could “create chaos” as the father of the World Wide Web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, warns that open data should have a public infrastructure, and requires the same level of protection as private data.
As the world continues to rely more and more on data that can be transferred in the blink of an eye, has he got a point?
read more
A recent privacy agreement struck between the U.S. and EU has not gone down very well with privacy groups who are challenging the decision in the Luxembourg-based General Court.
The EU-U.S. pact – dubbed the ‘Privacy Shield’ – was designed by the U.S. Department of Commerce and European Commission to provide companies on both sides of the Atlantic the right to transfer personal data from the EU to the U.S.
read more
Australia are reportedly lagging behind many countries in terms of their data protection; as evidenced in the recent Red Cross Blood Service data breach, which was dubbed the “largest data breach in Australian history“.
Now, the Privacy Commission, along with many other organisations, are calling for an independent agency to act as a watchdog of the use of their citizens’ data.
Of course, we welcome such moves.
read more
In the digital age, where technology is growing faster than we can imagine, it serves as an important reminder that data protection and security must be at the forefront of all our minds.
Recently, car insurance company Admiral suggested using Facebook profiles as a way of assessing who should have cheaper car insurance. Facebook has blocked Admiral’s seemingly absurd claims; and rightly so!
read more
You may have seen the recent news coverage of the huge data breach in Australia involving the Australian Red Cross Blood Service.
It seems they’re the next organisation to face a gruelling investigation into how 550,000 of their patients’ details were accessed by an “unauthorised person”. It has been described as Australia’s largest data breach to date, and it’s a real concern, as most data breaches are.
read more
Recent reports show that BBC has allegedly breached 10,000 of their customers’ personal data over the period of almost a decade.
Over the 10 year period it was reported that there were 169 data breaches, according to a Freedom of Information Act request. The personal information that seems to have been lost includes partial bank details, mobile numbers, addresses, and signatures through TV licensing fee accounts.
All very worrying…
read more
In the midst of increasing data protection woes, new reports suggest that the biggest mobile device software services – Android and iOS – are both leaking huge amounts of data.
Not that it matters more, as both are perpetrators of the leaking data, but iOS applications are said to be leaking considerably more when compared with Android.
But both systems leaking data is bad enough!
read more
As cyber-attacks are on a continual upward trend, so is the need for real and robust data protection.
This is shown in the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council’s (PCI SSC) statement where new penalties are to be enforced under EU data protection regulations for data breaches. Any financial penalty should scare any organisation from potential data breaches until the end of times!
The figures are staggering!
It’s reported that UK companies could face up to £122 billion in fines if they violate data protection principles, which is a lot of money.
read more
Fill out our quick call back form below and we'll contact you when you're ready to talk to us.