Welcome To The Data Leak Lawyers Blog

Leicester City Council accidentally send spreadsheet to taxi firms containing details of vulnerable adults and children

Leicester City Council accidentally sent an unsecured spreadsheet to 27 taxi firms that reportedly contained sensitive details of potentially thousands of vulnerable adults and children.

The error occurred as the local government authority were processing tenders for transport of people in care and people with special needs.

Although a recall email was sent, there is no telling just how far the data may have inadvertently spread.
read more

By Author

What would happen to Carphone Warehouse if their 2015 data protection breach happened after the new GDPR laws come into force?

Back in 2015, hackers were able to easily access the databases of Carphone Warehouse who had reportedly failed to fix known flaws in their cybersecurity which may have been known about the previous year. As a result of the failure to adequately secure their systems, they were hit with a successful cyberattack.

The final report from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) was issued earlier this year, and Carphone Warehouse were hit with a £400,000 fine – one of the largest fines the ICO has ever issued.

With the new GDPR laws set to come into force in May 2018, wouldn’t it be interesting to see what would happen to Carphone Warehouse if this breach took place after the new data protection rules were in place?
read more

By Author

Gwent Police to be investigated over “hiding” data protection breach

Worryingly, the police occupy one of the top spots in terms of organisations at the centre of data breaches, data leaks and hacks. Victims whose data is compromised in a data protection breach deserve to be notified as soon as possible, but it’s not unheard of for an organisation to “hide” a data breach as opposed to facing up to it and dealing with it.

Reportedly, Gwent Police are to be investigated for doing just that.

News sources say that Gwent Police are being investigated for failing to inform hundreds of individuals that their data protection rights had been breached.
read more

By Author

NHS staff accessing neighbour’s medical records is NOT okay

There is a recent worrying trend of NHS staff being caught out snooping on people they know, or are related to, by abusing their powers to access their medical records.

Let’s be absolutely clear: it is NOT okay for any member of the NHS to access their neighbour’s medical records without good reason or due authorisation.

If you are informed that a member of the NHS staff has accessed your medical records in such a way, or if you discover it has happened, you may be entitled to claim for data protection breach compensation.
read more

By Author

Council data protection breaches are serious and highly sensitive

Data protection breaches committed by councils / local authorities – or the companies they outsource work to – can be unfortunately common. We advise and represent a large volume of people who have been the victim of a data breach caused by their local council, so we understand how bad they can be.

The serious council data protection breaches can cause a lot of problems for the victims, and given the nature of data that local authorities often hold – these type of breaches can be very sensitive indeed.
read more

By Author

Ex-soldier prosecuted for posting vulnerable adult’s sensitive data on Twitter

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has released the details of a prosecution and a police undertaking after private and sensitive information was intentionally leaked on social media platform Twitter.

William Godfrey from Kent had been in a relationship with a probation officer when he came into possession of a USB data stick containing sensitive data. He later tweeted some of the sensitive data on the USB device and threatened to release more data as well.

For their part, Surrey Police signed an undertaking to improve their data protection policies and procedures.
read more

By Author

Hugh Grant joins the list of celebrities whose cases against Trinity Mirror Group have settled for phone hacking

Actor Hugh Grant is said to have received a six-figure settlement sum as a victim of the infamous phone-hacking scandal involving Trinity Mirror Group.

Mr Grant reportedly condemned members of the Mirror outlets involved, including Piers Morgan, who was in charge at the time when the hacking took place but denies knowledge or involvement in the shameful and illegal behaviour.

This remains one of the most infamous cases of the misuse of private information that was attained by hacking into victims’ phones and voice-mails.
read more

By Author

The pressure is piling on Equifax – our Data Leak Lawyers are still taking cases on

We’ve initiated our action against Equifax for victims of the Equifax data protection breach here in the UK. We’re now acting for many people affected by the data protection breach, but you can still join the action if you have yet to do so.

We’re confident there is a case to answer, but at the same time, more and more is coming out about the breach, and the pressure is piling on the credit-reference agency at the centre of the huge cyber-hack from 2017.
read more

By Author

Fraudsters still posing as TalkTalk to scam customers

We have helped and advised people in the past who were scammed out of thousands of pounds because they were called by fraudsters who were able to convince the victims they were calling from TalkTalk themselves.

The criminals likely gained their information from the TalkTalk cyber-hack and had enough details to be able to trick victims in to thinking they were the real deal, with names, addresses, numbers and even account info.

The fraudsters are still at it; with plenty of targets to choose from thanks to the huge TalkTalk data protection breach.
read more

By Author

NHS health board left “devastated and disappointed” after another employee data protection breach

In what Hywel Dda University Health Board admitted to be the second data protection breach they have faced of this nature, yet another NHS worker has been caught accessing confidential medical records without a valid reason.

Instances of NHS workers accessing medical records when they have no reason or right to access them is a common problem at the moment. Most of the time, staff committing the breaches are accessing records for people they know out of nothing more than curiosity.
read more

By Author