Category: Technology
Medical data breach and the exposure of private patient information
A medical data breach is often serious as our medical data often represents the most personal information that we will ever entrust to a third party.
The faith we invest in medical professionals to protect this data is indicative of our confidence in their ability to care, and in the health service more generally.
However, this trust is at risk of being eroded due to the succession of medical data breaches that we have encountered, either first-hand or in the headlines, in recent years. When such breaches occur, the exposed information can be highly sensitive and, depending on the affected individual’s circumstances, can dramatically affect their mental state and/or their relationships. It is vital that the confidential doctor-patient relationship at the heart of the NHS is not damaged by a failure to prevent these exposures.
HaveIBeenPwned and increase in hacks and incidents
The HaveIBeenPwned platform watches for breaches and can be used to check email addresses to see if an account linked to that email has been compromised in a data breach.
Over the last few months, HaveIBeenPwned has reported huge numbers of data breaches involving millions of records. This can highlight just how frequently these serious breaches are taking place, which is bad for us all.
Data breaches are becoming an increasing threat in society, particularly with the way 2020 evolved with a huge increase in people working from home due to the coronavirus pandemic. Your Lawyers (T/a The Data Leak Lawyers) are experts in the field of data breach law as a leading firm of compensation experts, and we are always keen to help victims of data breaches and fight for the justice that they deserve. We have helped thousands of victims claim millions in damages, and we may be able to help you too.
2020: another year of data breaches
2020 has been yet another year of data breaches, resulting in our leading team of lawyers here taking on many new cases and launching several new actions.
We had hoped that the introduction of the GDPR in 2018 would lead to serious improvements and that we would see far fewer breaches, leaks and hacks. Sadly, this has not been the case and, if anything, the volume of breaches continues to grow.
What has not helped us in 2020 is, of course, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The increased reliance on the use of technology to be able to work and live has resulted in an increase in cyberattacks, and hackers have done their best to exploit the situation. When it comes to 2021, we expect the current trends to continue.
Data protection laws and what you can claim for
Data protection laws are designed to do exactly what they say – they are in place to protect your personal data from being exposed and/or misused.
In today’s digital age, it has become harder and harder to keep track of your personal information and data. When we create online accounts or do our online shopping, we are trusting that business or organisation to have the correct security measures in place to protect our sensitive data, and we trust that they are abiding by important data protection laws.
Your Lawyers (T/a The Data Leak Lawyers) is a leading specialist data breach law firm. We have pioneered data breach action since 2014 and we are passionate about fighting for the rights of victims of data breaches. We know the importance of holding organisations to account when it comes to data protection and we know the damage data breaches can have on individuals when it is exposed or misused.
A data breach at Christmas: never suffer in silence
Suffering the impact of a data breach at Christmas is something we are used to helping people with on a No Win, No Fee basis.
This is the time of year when data breach numbers can increase as more people go online to spend in time for the big day. With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, more of our shopping is now online anyway, and the dangers of breaches, leaks and hacks are evident.
If you suffer from a data breach, you should never suffer in silence. Here is how we can help you.
People’s Energy data breach – advice for English and Welsh customers
We have been approached for advice and have agreed to take forward No Win, No Fee compensation claims for those affected by the People’s Energy data breach.
News of the People’s Energy data breach has just broken in the media following the discovery of the cyberattack yesterday. We have already been approached for help and have agreed to take legal action now – if you have received confirmation that you are affected, please do not hesitate to contact our team for free, no-obligation advice now.
As a leading firm of data breach compensation lawyers, we are often approached immediately by victims when a new cyberattack or data leak emerges. Representing thousands of clients, having launched over 45 data breach group actions, we are ready to take claims for this new breach forward now for anyone based in England and Wales.
Manchester United cyberattack
In November 2020, Manchester United was targeted by cybercriminals. The Manchester United cyberattack came as a shock to fans, with some worried that games could be postponed.
However, the club has spoken out and said that they were ‘confident’ that no critical systems required for the upcoming matches were breached and the games went on safely.
It appears that, in this case, information has not been exposed, which is great to hear. When a system is breached, it can put victims of the breach in danger if personal information is at risk of exposure, and victims could be eligible to make a compensation claim relating to the severity of the breach.
Financial services data breach advice
Financial services data breaches are becoming bigger and bigger problems, with some research indicating that most exposed information came from financial services data breaches last year.
According to a report from the data protection company Bitglass, compiled from data by the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) and the Ponemon Institute, although the financial services industry contributed to 62% of data exposed last year, it only accounted for 6.5% of data breaches in total. This suggests that, whilst they only contribute to a small percentage of reported data breaches overall, an enormous amount of data is exposed in these breaches.
Your Lawyers (T/a The Data Leak Lawyers) is a leading firm of data breach compensation experts, and this research does not come as a surprise to us. We have pioneered data breach action since 2014 and we are passionate about fighting for justice for the victims of data breaches. We are here to help anyone that has suffered because of their sensitive information being misused or exposed in a data breach, and we offer free, no-obligation advice to victims.
Prestige Software data breach
Millions of users’ data has been put at risk of exposure in the Prestige Software data breach. Prestige Software operates on behalf of some of the biggest hotel online services, including Booking.com, Expedia, and Hotels.com, storing their users’ guest data in an online cloud database.
If you have been affected by the Prestige Software data breach, you could be eligible to make a data breach compensation claim for any distress caused by loss of control of your personal information. If your data has been targeted by criminals and you have suffered as a result of scams or fraudulent activity, you could also be eligible to make a compensation claim for any losses and expenses incurred.
Whether a claim could be brought or not may depend on the extent of the exposure and the potential risks that may be involved.
Wisepay data breach – school payments service
School payments service Wisepay has suffered a data breach after hackers reportedly gained entry into their database and modified a page so they could steal payment details.
The Wisepay data breach is understood to have occurred on the 2nd October 2020 and lasted for over two days.
Breaches of this kind that can expose customers’ payment details can be highly serious. Victims could be targeted for fraudulent payments, meaning that they may have to suspend their cards and monitor their accounts for suspicious activity. If fraudulent attempts are made, victims may have suffered financial loss before attempting to reclaim the money.