Tag: cyber crime
Investment fraud resulting from data breaches
Every year, thousands of people fall prey to investment fraud, in which criminals lure victims in with the promise of huge returns. While some of these scams can be unsophisticated and easy to detect, others can be highly convincing, making them harder for people to identify.
In order to target victims with investment scams, fraudsters first need to gain access to contact details in order to send out their fraudulent marketing material. In the digital age, in which businesses hold vast quantities of consumers’ personal information, data breaches are increasingly becoming prime sources of personal details for cybercriminals.
If your personal information is exposed in a data breach, and falls into the hands of cybercriminals, you could be put at risk of all kinds of financial crimes. In cases where the data controller failed to do enough to protect your private information, they can be indirectly responsible for the risks you have been exposed to, and they could be liable to pay you compensation as a victim of the data breach. To find out more about a potential data breach claim, contact our specialist team for free, no-obligation advice.
Billions of leaked records – data exposure in 2021
According to a recent report, over five billion personal records have already been exposed in 2021. A number of significant data leak incidents have contributed to the billions of leaked records, showing how cybercriminals are often able to steal information in large quantities.
In many cases, the theft of records can be facilitated by the negligence or errors of data controllers. Despite being required by law to impose strong cybersecurity defences, vulnerabilities are often neglected and left open for cybercriminals to take advantage of.
Your Lawyers, as leading specialists in data protection law, have seen data controllers fail to meet their responsibilities on many occasions, and the consequences can be devastating for those affected. It is not always possible to undo the impact when control of your personal information is lost, but making a data protection breach compensation claim can allow you to hold a third-party organisation accountable for any failure to protect your personal data. In a time in which so many records are being leaked, our work has never been more important.
Twitch earnings data leak exposes wealth of information
The Twitch earnings data leak has reportedly led to a wealth of personal information about streamers being exposed and being circulated online.
It is not yet fully clear as to exactly how the information has been exposed. There are reports that hackers have claimed responsibility, and the Amazon-owned platform has reported a “server configuration” problem.
As leading data breach compensation lawyers, what we do know for sure is that the personal information for a lot of people has been exposed. What this means is that they could be entitled to claim data breach compensation with No Win, No Fee legal representation.
Cybersecurity month 2021 – how we help the victims
As we mark Cybersecurity month 2021 this October, we will talk about how we can help the victims of data breaches, leaks and hacks, and the important work that we do to hold organisations to account for data protection and privacy failures.
Victims of a data breach can be eligible to claim data breach compensation. Depending on how you have been affected by a breach, you could be eligible to receive thousands of pounds in data breach damages.
When it comes to what we do, our experience speaks for itself. Read on for more information.
Push payment fraud arising from data breaches
In the wake of data breaches, the exposure of personal information can make victims vulnerable to becoming the targets of scammers and fraudsters. Compromised contact details or bank account information could be used by cybercriminals to extract further personal information and money from the victims that they target. Push payment fraud is among the various types of crimes that data breach victims could be targeted with.
When we disclose our data to third-party organisations, we do so in the belief that they will do their utmost to protect it. However, too many data controllers fail to recognise the importance of data protection and fail to comply with the law. Even the most basic of security errors could cause victims to have their information made vulnerable to misuse by cybercriminals.
If you have fallen prey to push payment fraud following a data breach, you may be able to claim compensation for your involvement, and for the emotional and/or financial impact of the incident. To find out more, contact us for free, no-obligation advice on your potential data breach claim.
Steris data breach
Steris, a provider of a variety of medical products and services, has reportedly been found to have been impacted by a data security incident. The Steris data breach is understood to have been part of a wider cybersecurity attack that first came to public attention in December 2020, when Accellion, a technology company, reportedly suffered a hack.
As one of the many companies that pays to use Accellion’s FTA (File Transfer Appliance) to transfer files, Steris had private information when the FTA server was breached by external hackers. The list of companies affected by the Accellion hack has grown and grown in the months following the data breach, in what has become a highly convoluted incident for the company.
The Accellion incident demonstrates how harmful data breaches can be when they affect businesses that provide services to other businesses, creating a domino effect of data breaches. With the threat of such wide-reaching damage, it is essential that all businesses take action to ensure that they deploy appropriate security and protect the personal information in their possession.
Healthcare data breaches and Covid
The link between healthcare data breaches and Covid has been well-documented, with various studies and reports suggesting that breaches have been on the rise worldwide since 2020. With hospitals already under immense strain, it is unsurprising that they have become more vulnerable to cyberattacks, in addition to the usual internal errors and leaks and breaches that can take place.
While data security may have become somewhat of a peripheral concern during the coronavirus pandemic, it needs to be brought front and centre if the problem is to be tackled, and if data controllers are to prevent the problem from being exploited by criminals. In the past, data breaches have often highlighted the lacklustre approach to data protection at many healthcare organisations, where there can sometimes be a lack of cybersecurity resources and expertise.
But these shortages cannot be an excuse. If you have been affected by a healthcare data breach since the start of the pandemic, you could be eligible to claim compensation for any harm caused. There is no reason for you not to seek justice when you have been harmed. As such, you can contact us for free, no-obligation advice if you think you may have a claim to make.
Guntrader hack – claim in the data breach compensation action
We are taking forward claims for data breach compensation for victims of the recently publicised Guntrader hack that has resulted in the personal information of UK gun owners being exposed.
The Guntrader cyberattack is understood to impact as many as 100,000 records and could expose the details of UK gun owners who have used the website Guntrader.co.uk. The company is understood to have learned of the incident on 19th July 2021, and the matter has been referred to the UK’s data regulator, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
Your Lawyers – as leading data leak compensation experts – can represent eligible victims of the Guntrader data breach on a No Win, No Fee basis. You can speak to the team here now for free, no-obligation advice.
Rising healthcare cyberattacks
On top of the Covid-19 pandemic, healthcare organisations across the globe have also had to contend with rising healthcare cyberattacks since the outbreak began. Cybercriminals, perceiving that attention was diverted to managing the virus, have perhaps seen the pandemic as an opportunity to target hospitals and healthcare organisations under strain. The need for strong cybersecurity in the NHS has, therefore, never been more urgent.
Unfortunately, the NHS has not been known for good cybersecurity and data protection measures in the past, having suffered a number of severe cyberattacks and data breaches in recent years. One of the most infamous incidents was the WannaCry ransomware attack of 2017, where the NHS was said to be more susceptible to this attack due to a failure to follow cybersecurity recommendations.
Even within the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, there is no excuse for poor data protection by healthcare organisations, and the government must step in where funding is an issue. It is vital that action is taken to tackle the short-term threat, as well as planning for the future of cyberattacks.
Manchester City Council caught up in international cyberattacks
The head of Manchester City Council has recently reported that the local authority’s IT systems have been subjected to regular cyberattacks in recent times. Richard Leese described how the council has reportedly been hit by concerted attacks recently, and he believes that other councils may be falling victim to the same kinds of issues.
The council chair’s warning to other local authorities highlights the importance of cyberattack prevention and response strategies, particularly in terms of how there is a need for a shared approach. Despite their sometimes small and local scale, councils cannot expect to avoid assaults on their systems and networks. Hackers can be indiscriminate in their targets, seeking to hit as many organisations as possible in the hopes of data theft and financial gain.
With councils facing a significant threat of cybercrime, it is essential that all local authorities comply with data protection law to produce effective methods of protecting the personal information they hold. If they are found to be responsible for data exposure, they may be in breach of the law, and the victims of the breach may be entitled to claim compensation for the harm caused.