We focus on the latest news surrounding data breaches, leaks and hacks plus daily internet security articles.
There are differing levels in terms of severity of data leaks – it could be fair comment to say that a person’s full name being leaked is perhaps not as dangerous as a person’s bank account details being leaked. But it does depend on other factors, like whether a leak of a name is related to a sensitive subject; such as the full name of someone with a certain medical condition, as an example.
If that happens then just a name can be very serious indeed, but in an age where leaks are happening around the world all of the time – and we literally mean, ALL of the time – we ask the question: is there really such thing as a “non-serious” data breach?
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Nuisance calls – the bane of many people’s lives!
Thankfully the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) can fine and prosecute organisations for failing to adhere to regulations for marketing calls, and in this example, Check Point Claims Limited has been fined a huge £250,000.00 for failing to comply with the law.
They reportedly made a staggering 17.5 MILLION nuisance calls asking if people had suffered hearing loss at work.
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You may not know this but you are entitled to claim for data breach compensation if you are the victim of a data breach. You can claim data breach compensation from organisations leaking your information (like a public service or your employer); from organisations sharing your information without consent; or even from hacks, as examples.
In the digital age we live in, where organisations hold an astounding wealth of information about us, we’re all at risk of our right to privacy being breached, and at risk of scams and frauds.
So what can you claim for in terms of data breach compensation, and on what basis do you claim?
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The details of almost 800,000 customers of UK baby and child retailer Kiddicare have been stolen from a version of their website it had been using for testing.
Customers reported receiving suspicious messages that had not been sent by Kiddicare, and following an investigation, the data breach was linked back to a test website they had used which led to customer data being compromised.
The company has reported itself to the ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office) in light of what has happened.
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The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has concluded its investigations in to the 56 Dean Street Clinic data leak that saw the confidential HIV status of over 700 patients inadvertently leaked by email.
Our lawyers fighting for justice have welcomed the move by the ICO to fine the clinic following the breach. We’ve taken on a large number of cases since the leak, and we’re still taking instructions now (with the latest few being this week).
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Personal and sensitive data of thousands of employees working for Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust was inadvertently posted online.
The discovery was made on 30th January 2015 and reportedly affects more than 6,500 employees when a spreadsheet containing highly confidential information was published online back in March 2014.
The data included names, national insurance numbers, birth dates, religious beliefs, pay scales, disability statuses, ethnicity, and sexual orientation.
This is a serious breach of data protection and one of the worst we have ever seen here in the UK.
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The Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) has signed an undertaking to comply with its requirements under the Data Protection Act, having fallen short in the past.
Patients whose data they were dealing with were offered an “opt-out” option for certain data being shared with other organisations, but this was not honoured. As such, anyone who opted out still had their information shared anyway without their consent.
The HSCIC has now reportedly agreed to take a series of steps and have signed an undertaking to ensure they comply with their obligations in the future.
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The Information Commissioners Office (ICO) has fined Kent Police £80,000 after the entire contents of an alleged domestic abuse victim’s mobile phone were disclosed to the alleged assailant.
The victim had given her phone to Kent Police on the grounds it contained video footage of the alleged abuse. The contents were copied, but the domestic abuse court case was discontinued.
Her former partner who was accused of the abuse was actually a serving officer at Kent Police and faced separate misconduct proceedings, and as part of the separate case, the entire contents of the phone were then inadvertently disclosed to the solicitor defending the officer.
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In the wake of the ongoing saga over how disability benefit funds are allocated, Channel 4’s Dispatches program launched an undercover investigation in to what really goes on when applicants are assessed for help.
What they discovered was shocking – amongst the footage and evidence gathered, which showed disgraceful and unfeeling abuse from assessors who were caught red handed admitting to poor practice, was one assessor admitting that he takes photos of applications to prove he has done them so he can get paid for his work.
This is a serious and intentional breach of the Data Protection Act.
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OK, so you’ve been the victim of a data leak, and you want to seek compensation for what’s happened. That’s your right to do so, and our specialist Data Leak Lawyers can help you to claim because we’re experts in representing victims for data leaks and hacks.
But, as a data leak victim, we imagine you’re already upset enough that your personal and confidential data has been leaked without your authority. This begs the question then – can you make a data leak claim confidentially?
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