Category: Scammers
Redcar and Cleveland Council cyberattack
In February last year, it was revealed that Redcar and Cleveland Council had fallen prey to a cyber-attack, bringing many of its online resident services to a standstill for a prolonged period of time. Although systems were eventually repaired and services reinstated, the effects of the cyberattack are still being felt now, over a year after the attack, primarily in the huge financial toll it took on the council.
In fact, the government has been set to intervene to help the council with the funding, after millions of pounds were expended on the effort of rebuilding its systems. The prolonged recovery work raises questions about whether Redcar and Cleveland Council’s systems should have been stronger in order to defend against the attack in the first place, and whether the council had an attack response plan in place before they were hit.
This all shows how costly an attack can be, and why it is always so much better to take preventative action instead of an event taking place.
Banks reportedly prevented £45m of fraud in 2020
Recent coverage has revealed that action taken by bank employees and police prevented some £45m of fraud in 2020, saving customers from the loss of an average of almost £6,000 each. The figure is a testament to the success of the Banking Protocol scheme that encourages banks and the police to work together to protect consumers.
However, the huge £45m sum is also a sign of the scale of fraud in the UK. As leading, specialists in data protection law, we believe that the link between data breaches and fraud is a problem that needs to be addressed. When a third-party organisation fails to protect your personal information, it may be leaked into the hands of cybercriminals, who may attempt to steal from you via various kinds of manipulative scams.
We believe that it is essential that all data controllers are held to account when they fail to observe their legal duties. We have helped thousands of consumers to recover the compensation that they deserve, so we encourage any data breach victims to come forward for free, no-obligation advice on their potential claims.
The risks of reusing passwords
As a standard recommendation of IT professionals and security specialists, many of us will be aware that it is advisable to use a range of passwords, but we believe that the importance of this advice cannot be understated. Many studies have shown that people continue to risk their data security by reusing passwords across their online accounts, and this is dangerous.
There is now a whole subsection of cybercrime built around the theft and misuse of account credentials, so it is vital that consumers do not put themselves at greater risk by reusing passwords.
Personal information is a highly valuable resource to cybercriminals, and passwords can be particularly profitable, given that they can sometimes unlock private accounts containing further personal information. A password is meant to be a key form of protection, so why are we compromising this security technique by reusing passwords?
Confidential information exposed by a data breach
Many of us disclose personal information so often that we don’t even think about it, trusting that the third party that we are handing our information to will protect it securely. Unfortunately, despite the introduction of the GDPR in 2018, many data controllers still break their legal obligations to keep private data safe. The repercussions of a data breach can be serious, with the confidential information exposed becoming subject to misuse.
As specialists in data breach claims, we have seen the consequences that victims can face, which is why we are always determined to hold companies who have exposed data accountable for their actions. We always try to make sure that compensation claims bring no added stress to the victims, so we encourage you to come forward for no-obligation advice if you think you may have a claim to make.
Impact of Covid on data protection
Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, the risks to cybersecurity have been widely perceived as greater. Cybercriminals have been taking advantage of poor data protection methods whilst also enhancing their methods of attack. We cannot yet fully assess the impact of Covid on data protection right now, but we can examine the evolving threat levels and look at how consumer attitudes to data have changed over the course of the pandemic.
Awareness of data security has always varied from person to person. Your Lawyers – The Data Leak Lawyers – as leading specialists in data breach law, we believe that each person should know about their right to good data protection. In the event of a data breach, this knowledge can be essential in ensuring companies are held to account for their errors. We support thousands of people in their fight to recover compensation following data breaches, and we want to make sure the data protection errors made during the coronavirus pandemic do not go unnoticed.
118 118 Money data breach claims
In May last year, we began to be contacted by victims in relation to the 118 118 Money data breach. Affected customers received a data breach notification letter telling them that their data had been subjected to unauthorised access. We judged that victims may have a case for a data breach compensation claim, and we are still taking claims on if you wish to seek justice for the exposure of your private data.
As leading, specialist data breach compensation lawyers, we believe that everyone should be able to access justice in relation to privacy matters. By giving a voice to data breach victims, we hope to bring them the compensation they deserve, and we are also determined to make companies face up to their data protection responsibilities.
Synthetic identity theft – data breach claims advice
Personal data is an incredibly valuable resource for cybercriminals who are developing increasingly sophisticated ways of stealing personal information and using it to commit fraud. Although many people may understand or have at least heard of identity theft, synthetic identity theft is a less familiar concept for many people. It is a risk that everyone should be aware of in our view, as it is one of the more sophisticated and evasive methods in the current cybercrime landscape.
Your Lawyers – The Data Leak Lawyers – as leading specialists in data protection claims, are always looking to raise awareness about data security issues and the potential cybercrime that can result from data breaches. If consumers remain unconscious of the risks and how they can happen, people may then be unaware of the right to make a claim if something does happen. To hold companies to account, we can bring compensation claims against them on behalf of data breach victims.
If you think you have been affected by a breach of data protection law, you can contact us for advice on your potential claim.
Healthcare breaches in 2020 – compensation claims advice
With so many NHS employees and resources devoted to suppressing the spread of Covid-19, data security concerns have inadvertently been pushed to one side by healthcare organisations in 2020 in some cases.
It is believed that cybercriminals took advantage of this gap in data protection by launching more attacks on hospitals and other public health organisations. Meanwhile, human error has continued to be a contributing factor, causing several notable healthcare breaches in 2020 also.
The coronavirus pandemic has undoubtedly laid bare the security risks faced by healthcare organisations. Though cyberattack attempts have likely increased during the Covid-19 crisis, healthcare organisations have always been prime targets for cybercriminals, given the sensitivity of the information they hold. As such, the same risks will confront them in the years to come if changes are not made.
We have witnessed first-hand the damage that can be caused by data breaches in our support for the victims. Anyone who has suffered the effects of healthcare data breaches, or any other kind of data breach, may be able to claim compensation for the harm caused.
Data snooping attacks
Data snooping attacks can represent one of the many methods that cybercriminals use to steal private information. Snooping methods are commonly used to steal data from insecure networks and other systems. Sometimes, data snooping is even used by well-known companies seeking to extract information relating to their users.
In the digital age, personal data is a valuable commodity, such that there is a large underground network of hackers and fraudsters who aggregate data for malicious purposes. With the risks growing and growing, third-party organisations must aim to safeguard the information that is under their protection.
In fact, all UK data controllers are legally bound to comply with the rules of the GDPR, meaning that they can be held liable when a data breach occurs. If you have been affected by a data breach, you may be entitled to claim compensation. Any victims can contact us for free, no-obligation advice about their potential claims.
Council payment data breaches
Councils are often in possession of extensive personal information pertaining to their employees and their residents. Often, councils keep sensitive information belonging to residents in receipt of benefit payments, or to those who have made payments to them, whether this is for a parking fine or for council tax. Council payment data breaches can arise when any information relating to payments to or from residents is exposed.
The wealth of information available at councils can make them prime targets for hackers, but it also means that any human error data breaches caused by employees can have severe implications. For the victims, data exposure can provoke an emotional and financial impact, which is why we help those affected to claim compensation for the harm caused to them.
Each and every third-party data controller has a duty to protect the data entrusted to their care, and they can be held accountable under the law when this duty is neglected. Your Lawyers, as leading data protection lawyers, know what it takes to hold organisations to justice.