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The 2016 Tesco bank hack – when banks are breached

It’s a rare thing for a bank to suffer a data breach, but around this time last year people were left fearful after Tesco suffered a massive security breach in their banking branch.

Reportedly, around 40,000 Tesco Bank accounts were affected with money taken from some 20,000 accounts.

At least £2.5 million was stolen in what was deemed as one of the biggest, successful attacks on a bank to have ever occurred, and potentially the very first, large-scale attack where money was directly stolen from a bank.
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Hundreds of popular websites leaking personal data claim experts

Data security studies have revealed that there are literally hundreds of popular websites and mobile applications leaking personal information. Previous studies suggested even the Royal Mail is one such business leaking data, which goes to show the extent of the problem.

Many of the websites and apps researchers say are guilty of leaking data have an international reach, meaning people from all over the world could be victims to these data leaks. Studies so far have been focused on personally identifiable information (PII), which is data that can be directly linked to the owner.

This is worrying.
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When Europol suffered a data breach

A law enforcement agency suffering a data breach is a worrying thought, especially one as big as Europol – but it can and did happen.

Last year, Europol admitted they were subject to a rather shocking data leak when one of their former employees – a former Dutch police officer – breached the agency’s policies by taking home a confidential file that contained extremely sensitive information on multiple terrorist investigations.

A story from 2016 that’s similar to the recent Heathrow USB device found containing all sorts of sensitive security information, it goes to show the worrying reality that even the forces who are there to protect us can fall foul of a data breach.
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Uber “paid off” hackers to keep quiet on a data breach involving 57 million users

Uber has revealed that the company’s database was hacked in October last year, but instead of alerting authorities and warning users about the breach, they instead paid hackers around £75,000 to keep quiet about the hack, and for assurances that the information would be deleted.

Former chief security officer, Joe Sullivan, reportedly made the decision to cover-up the Uber hack, and it was a decision that cost him his job, his deputy’s job, and risked the security of some 56 million people around the world.
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Former Yahoo CEO and Equifax CEO’s testify for largest data breaches in history

The former Yahoo CEO and Equifax CEO were grilled over perceived failings surrounding two of the world’s largest data breaches in history.

Hackers easily got through both companies’ security systems and stole personal data belonging to millions of people. For two large organisations like Yahoo and Equifax, you’d think such breaches would never happen at all…

Both former company representatives reportedly started out by saying how they’d “changed” since the breaches, but they apparently also struggled when facing intense questioning.
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Equifax data hack: the damage has only just begun…

“On a scale of 1 to 10 in terms of risks to consumers, this is a 10” – says fraud analyst, Avivah Litan on the Equifax data hack.

It has been months since the Equifax hack, but calamity isn’t about to quieten down anytime soon as the hacking exposed confidential information belonging to some 145 million customers, including almost 700,000 in the U.K.

This particular breach is distinct to others because of the wealth of information stolen combined with the company’s somewhat questionable attempts to mitigate the damage…
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After compromising over 145 million people’s financial data records, Equifax responds by producing an app…

Equifax have faced heavy criticism for a series of failings around the data breach that exposed over 145 million people’s personal data records, with almost 700,000 Brits caught up in the scandal. It was bad enough that a company responsible for credit referencing was easily hacked, especially given that the hack was down to Equifax failing to patch a known security vulnerability.

Their handling of the breach has been heavily criticised by authorities, experts and regulators. There are allegations of delays and failures to report the breach; an arguably dangerous website set up for people to check whether they were affected (which fraudsters can copy to lure people to give away information); and now an app, which is arguably one of worst offenders in terms of breaches and leaks of information.
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Nursing and Midwifery Council dismisses NHS midwife for snooping on medical records

A ‘nosy’ midwife has been sacked by the University Hospitals of Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust after she was discovered to have viewed confidential medical records belonging to friends, colleagues and other acquaintances.

Thirty-eight-year-old Vicky Anne Bloxham lost her job as a midwife for the illegal snooping carried out between 2002 and 2016.

In 2016 alone, Bloxham reportedly reviewed the medical records of some 45 friends and acquaintances without authorisation, with one person’s records accessed 13 times in a four-month period.
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Australian ‘Amazing Rentals’ uploads thousands of personal documents online

Australian appliance-rental company, Amazing Rentals, are in trouble with Australian authorities yet again for behaviour that has prompted government discussions over the need to crack down on bad business behaviour.

Around mid-September this year, the Guardian reported that Amazing Rentals “published 26,000 personal documents involving 4,000 customers on the internet.” No further information was provided as to what the details included, but clear concerns were aired over identity theft and credit fraud.

The Australian Information Commissioner’s Office shut down Amazing Rental’s website shortly thereafter and warned the retailer’s customers to take precautions against identity theft and other forms of fraud.
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ICO publishes useful guides on the new GDPR

Head of policy and engagement at the Information Commissioner’s Office, Jo Pedder, points to useful guidance on the new EU General Data Protection Regulation that is set to come into force come May 2018.

The regulation will bring in some major changes as to how organisations are expected to look after personal data and the responsibilities in disclosing them to the authorities and affected individuals. The changes could mean huge punishments for organisations who fail to take their data protection responsibilities seriously.
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