Welcome To The Data Leak Lawyers Blog

We focus on the latest news surrounding data breaches, leaks and hacks plus daily internet security articles.

Category: Security

March 28, 2019

Will we see more online gaming data breach incidents?

Given the scale of this growing market, which is becoming increasingly monetised with in-game purchases often the norm now, we may see increases in online gaming data breach incidents.

When you look under the surface of the gaming industry, there are a number of reasons to feel concerned. The revelations about Fortnite hacking (or Fortnite cracking as it’s often referred to) is worrying. Some youngsters are making a mint by hacking into accounts and then making use of the often-hard-earned digital property the original account user had amassed as they sell accounts on.

Online gaming is on the rise. This could put a bigger target on their back for the cybercriminals and fraudsters who can exploit gamers with ransom demands and account takeovers.

read more

By Author
Greater Manchester Police data breach
March 27, 2019

Police Federation of England and Wales data breach

The (PFEW) Police Federation of England and Wales data breach incidents were announced earlier this month, and they’re potentially huge. The PFEW cyber attacks may have affected 120,000 police employees.

Although PFEW say that they don’t believe any information was exposed, they cannot rule it out. For the potential victims of the breaches, this isn’t helpful. It’s hard enough these days being on the police force with constant cuts and under-staffing.

This kind of added stress in the current environment of policing isn’t helpful at all.

read more

By Author
local authority data breaches local authority data leak
March 26, 2019

V12 Sports and Classics data breach incident

A recent prosecution has taken place over the V12 Sports and Classics data breach incident where a former employee of the company has been found guilty of breaking the law.

In this case, the former employee (32-year-old Jayana Morgan Davies) reportedly forwarded work emails that contained the data of customers and colleagues to her personal account. She resigned from her position a few weeks later, which suggests a specific motive for the illegal processing of the data she misused.

The incident is said to have taken place in August 2017. It has led to a successful prosecution from the ICO (the Information Commissioner’s Office).

read more

By Author
letter is sent to the wrong address
March 25, 2019

Bromford data breach

It’s understood that a Bromford data breach incident occurred last year after the housing association accidentally sent letters to the old addresses for hundreds of tenants.

News of the breach comes from the media outlet Inside Housing. The error appears to be linked to some form of system issue where the old addresses for some tenants was copied into a new system. Some 30,000 letters were then sent to tenants in relation to rent reviews, and it’s believed that 253 of them were sent to the wrong (old) address.

After concerned tenants contacted the company about issues receiving their letters, the mistake was discovered. By then, the damage had already been done.

read more

By Author
equifax-data-breach
March 20, 2019

Don’t miss the boat in the Equifax class action

We’re coming up to the two-year anniversary of what was one of the world’s biggest breaches, so we’re making sure to remind you not to miss the boat in the Equifax class action.

We launched legal action in the UK soon after news of the massive Equifax data breach hit the headlines. We’re now acting for a large group of people affected in the UK, as one of the over 20 different data breach group actions / multi party actions our lawyers are working on.

Unlike what some firms may do when they’re not experienced in the kinds of areas like we are, we’re activity taking cases forward on a No Win, No Fee basis. We’re not just registering information with a view to trying to taking further action later.

read more

By Author
data breach deleting information
March 14, 2019

Dangers of the Quora data breach

The dangers of the Quora data breach cannot be understated, especially when the incident reportedly affected up to 100m users!

Just yesterday we wrote about the issue of reusing passwords and user credentials across multiple sites. Doing so can put you at far greater risks than you may even realise. One of the key things it means is that your credentials breached in an attack could be used to break into other platforms you use. Facebook is a prime example with billions of users and a feature that lets you log into other platforms using your Facebook credentials.

On that basis, the dangers of an incident like this Quora one simply cannot be understated.

read more

By Author
cyberattack compensation
March 13, 2019

The risks of reusing passwords

Thousands of people have contacted us for help with data breach claims. Victims can be entitled to make a claim for compensation. The risks of reusing passwords is one of the first things people may need to consider.

The advice is to never reuse the same passwords and user credentials across different platforms. Despite this, people still do it. It means that being the victim of one simple breach could lead to several accounts being accessed. In fact, it could even mean those credentials are used to hack into a business you are employed with.

There’s a great deal that many people may not consider when it comes to reusing passwords and usernames. The mindset needs to change!

read more

By Author
new report uncovers councils lack of cybersecurity systems
March 11, 2019

NHS fax data breach issue uncovered

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.

About the NHS fax data breach issues

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.

What’s being done about the NHS fax data breach issue?

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.

By Author
March 08, 2019

Latest in the Marriott data leak

We can help you make a claim for compensation as a victim of the massive Marriott data leak. Here’s a little about the latest since news broke of the incident.

OK, so we have some 500 million customers across the world who are potentially affected by the leak. The leak stems from a breach of their Starwood reservation systems since 2014 and has resulted in a wealth of data being exposed. As well as personal information, account details and bank card information has also been exposed.

Marriott has taken a number of steps in the aftermath of the breach, and legal actions have been initiated.

read more

By Author
camera photography
March 04, 2019

Huge 500px data breach

There’s been another huge security incident announced. This time it’s the 500px data breach that may have affected all 15 million of its worldwide users.

The Canada-based online photography networking platform (that also has an app) is understood to have identified security issue last year. However, it’s taken some six months for the organisation to discover that they’ve been breached.

The length of time that’s passed is particularly worrying. It means that victims of the 500px data breach may have already been targeted by criminals. Victims may have had no idea that their data had been exposed given that news of the breach has only just hit the headlines.

read more

By Author

We offer genuine No Win, No Fee agreements for our clients. Why we do this is simple:

Leading Data Breach Lawyers
Our experience speaks for itself.
We will fight for your right to compensation.
Access to Justice
As a victim of a data breach or hack, you deserve your chance to get access to justice.
Risks Assessment
We carefully risk assess your case and take it on if we think we have a good chance of winning the claim.

Request A Callback From Our Team

Fill out our quick call back form below and we'll contact you when you're ready to talk to us.

Your privacy is extremely important to us. Information on how we handle your data is in our Privacy Policy

solicitors regulation authority

SRA
Contact
www.dataleaklawyers.co.uk is © of Your Lawyers Limited - we are 'Authorised and Regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA number 508768)'
arrow-up icon