Tag: nhs
Ransomware healthcare attacks
The 2020 surge in ransomware healthcare attacks has highlighted how healthcare organisations have become more vulnerable to cyberattacks during the coronavirus pandemic. While many of us have turned to remote working over the past year, ransomware has long been a remote access tool for cybercriminals, allowing them to breach systems and take control of computer servers and machines from anywhere in the world.
In the UK, we constantly hear that our health service is constrained by limited resources, but few stop to consider the impact that this has on data privacy. Faced with outdated hardware and cybersecurity software in some cases, healthcare organisations could have poor defences against cyberattacks. They can be, therefore, risking the exposure of patient and employee data on a daily basis.
Every UK citizen has a right to have their personal information kept safe and secure by third-party organisations. This should mean that you may be entitled to claim compensation if your data has been exposed. For free, no-obligation advice, contact us today to talk to a member of our specialist data breach team.
Victims held to ransom by cybercriminals
Cyberattacks can be a common reason for the occurrence of data breaches, as criminals often target company databases to gain access to huge swathes of information. There is one type of attack that is particularly malicious in nature: when databases with highly sensitive data are hacked and the victims are held to ransom by cybercriminals, perhaps seeking payment in return for a vow that they will not misuse or publish the information.
These can sometimes be empty promises, placing the victims in danger whether they choose to pay up or reject the ransom. Unfortunately, poor data security of some organisations can often be the reason as to why victims end up in this defenseless position in the first place, as weaknesses in their systems could allow cybercriminals to break through.
If you have been put in a precarious situation due to a ransomware attack, we are here to advise you on your potential right to claim data breach compensation from those responsible for negligence.
Beware of the fake coronavirus vaccine text scam
One of the latest data scams to take advantage of the coronavirus pandemic are fake coronavirus vaccine texts circulating with the goal of tricking people into making a payment for a jab.
Claiming to be from the NHS, senders have been using a tried-and-tested scam method as they ask for the input of bank account details. Fraud through text or email scams is still all too common, even though the method is relatively easy for scammers. It shows just how much damage can be done with access to an email address or phone number, which are exactly the kinds of details which are often exposed in data breaches.
At Your Lawyers – The Data Leak Lawyers – we are a leading firm that represent many clients who have fallen victim to fraud as a result of having their data exposed by a third-party business or organisation.
Mental health data leaks and their victims
For the victims, data leaks often take an emotional or psychological toll, with psychiatrists in some cases reporting significant distress in their patients. As such, when a leak involves mental health data, the effects can be even more devastating as the victims may already have mental health problems or conditions.
To have an added stress on top of their day-to-day difficulties could be unbearable.
Unfortunately, data breaches at healthcare organisations hit the headlines all too frequently, suggesting that there are still wide-reaching failings in their approaches to data protection. At Your Lawyers – the Data Leak Lawyers – we appreciate that the ongoing stigma surrounding mental health issues can make the effects of such data leaks even more damaging. As a leading firm of data breach lawyers, we are here to support mental health patients who have been failed by the organisations that are supposed to ensure their safety when it comes to data and privacy.
Data breaches of physical records
In today’s digital world, we often expect data breaches to occur in cyber settings. However, the risk of data leaks, loss and theft involving physical records and documents is also a cause for concern, and companies still need to be vigilant in protecting their hard material information.
Incidents involving physical records can happen a lot. The all too frequent neglect of physical records is exemplified in the case of Westbury House, a Hampshire care home that closed in 2016 after being deemed an unfit care provider.
It was reportedly found to have abandoned confidential staff and patient information in the uninhabited building. The information was only proved to have been removed and secured at the start of December, 4 years after the care home’s closure. Over the course of these years, obvious negligence could have allowed trespassers to breach the building and rifle through the files. A failure of data protection such as this cannot go unnoticed.
Data protection practices – protecting physical and digital data
A recent leak of patient data has called into question the data protection practices of Lloyds Pharmacy. A parcel containing the prescription records of hundreds of Lloyds pharmacy patients is believed to have been intended for an NHS recipient, but mistakenly reached a personal home 300 miles away instead.
When the unintended recipient opened the box, she was shocked at the mass of details she found, assuming they were intended for the NHS prescription services in Bolton.
While Lloyds Pharmacy has placed the blame on an external courier service who mistakenly delivered the parcel, they may not be able to sidestep their ultimate responsibility for the control and handling of their own data in accordance with the GDPR. The incident undoubtedly highlights the risks organisations take when entrusting an external party with the safety of confidential records.
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.
Human error medical data breaches
Human error medical data breaches can be extremely common, and a big reason is due to the fact that many medical organisations do not direct adequate resources into preventing such breaches.
It is extremely important for medical institutions to keep the sensitive data that they hold secure and protected. When human error medical data breaches occur, an event like this can serve to undermine the GDPR and the medical staff’s responsibility to keep patient data safe. It can also undermine the trust that the victims have in the services being provided.
If you have been the victim of a human error medical data breach, do not hesitate to get in touch to see if you have a claim to make. As a leading firm of data breach compensation lawyers, our expert legal team has years of experience helping people in the complex field of data breach law, and we may be able to help you get the justice that you deserve.
Claim for a serious patient data breach
It is important to know that you can claim for a serious patient data breach.
If your personal and sensitive medical data has been misused or exposed as part of a healthcare data breach, you could be eligible to make a substantial data breach compensation claim, dependant on exactly what information is involved.
Your Lawyers (T/A The Data Leak Lawyers) is a leading, specialist data breach law firm with years of experience in representing victims of medical data breach compensation legal cases. We have been at the forefront of data breach action since 2014, fighting for victims in some of the most infamous healthcare breaches like the 56 Dean Street Clinic Leak. We have helped thousands of people claim millions in damages across a number of areas of law, and we may be able to help you too.
Accessing patient records without authority – advice for victims
A big problem surrounding medical data breaches, and one of the most concerning, is when a member of staff breaches confidentiality by accessing patient records without clinical justification.
We entrust medical employees and NHS staff to safeguard our personal medical data and only access it as part of our treatment or care. That is why it is so concerning when a member of staff is accessing patient records with no medical reasoning or no proper authority to do so.
It is sometimes hard to know what exactly they are using the data for, potentially putting individuals at risk by exposing sensitive data. In many cases, the perpetrators know the victims, which can make the distress for the victims even worse.