Tag: online security

Closure of York Council app after hack

The York Council app that was hacked late last year has reportedly been shut down as a result of the data breach incident.

It’s understood that the public-facing aspect of the app is no longer available. Residents had been able to access it and use it as part of waste-reduction plans and for the improvement of their environmental performance.

After it was discovered that the app lacked the proper security to keep users’ data safe, the app has now been reportedly shut down and is no longer publicly-available.

Fortnite hackers making a mint

Posted by Matthew on January 09, 2019 in the following categories: Cybersecurity Hacking News Latest Security and tagged with cyber attack | cyber crime | cybersecurity | online security | personal data

Fortnite hackers – some of whom are as young as 14 – are reportedly making a mint through the practice of “Fortnite Cracking”.

Fortnite, the free-to-play online game where users can make in-game purchases like skins for their characters, has opened up a whole new form of black market. Hackers are targeting accounts and stealing them to then resell them based on the value of the account.

Some of the hackers are reportedly making thousands of pounds from stealing the accounts of other users. Now, authorities are set to be stepping-up their efforts to stop this growing black market.

Have you suffered an Amazon data leak?

If you’ve been the victim of an Amazon data leak, we may be able to help you claim data leak compensation on a No Win, No Fee basis.

The most recent Amazon data leak took place last month, and there wasn’t a great deal of detail released about it. All that was said to victims was that some data had been exposed, and that victims don’t need to take any action. Although this may suggest that the leak was contained, people should always be vigilant. Companies should always ensure to warn people that they may need to take action.

One key element we do understand is that the most recent Amazon data leak reportedly stemmed from an API issue. This is important to know.

Bethesda data leak

Posted by Matthew on January 04, 2019 in the following categories: Cybersecurity Latest Security Technology and tagged with data leak | database security | online security | personal data

The computer gaming giants apologised last month after the Bethesda data leak led to customers being able to access data they shouldn’t have.

According to reports from angry customers, the data leak reportedly involved personal information and some payment data. The leak came off the back of a number of complaints involving the Fallout 76 game, and the leak itself involved the company’s complaints systems.

As the world of online gaming continues to grow, we expect incidents like the Bethesda data leak to become more common. Read More

Have you been the victim of a Gmail data breach?

Posted by Matthew on December 27, 2018 in the following categories: Cybersecurity Latest Mobile Data Smartphones Technology and tagged with email leaks | online security | personal data | phishing scams

Without even knowing it, your emails may be being read by companies, and you may feel that this is a Gmail data breach.

The recent admission by Google that they’ve been allowing companies to scan emails is a worrying one. App developers are reportedly able to access data in Gmail mailboxes to use it for marketing purposes. Even employees were manually reading mailboxes in order to train AI software to then do it for them.

If this applies to you, whether this can be classed as a Gmail data breach or not is apparently open for debate.

iPhone app data breaches and hacks

iPhone app data breaches, leaks and hacks are on the rise as much as then use of apps continues to rise in everyday society.

Many people just assume that data on apps and phones is secure. Recent investigations and data breach incidents have told us a totally different story about the security of apps on phones.

People have a lot of reasons to worry. There have been a number of apps that have been comprised through poor security. Potentially millions of people are putting their private and sensitive data at risk every day.

Another Facebook data leak

There’s been another Facebook data leak, and yet again, millions of users are said to have been affected.

The fines that Facebook could now face in accordance with GDPR are mounting. This is one of many data leaks that have been revealed recently. The previous one, affecting some 29m users, was only discovered a couple of months ago.

In this latest Facebook data leak, a software bug has led to users’ photos being uploaded to websites without permission.

Fine issued for Uber cyber attack

A hefty fine has been issued over the 2016 Uber cyber attack as a result of security flaws that could have prevented the breach in the first place.

The data for some 2.7m Uber customers in the UK was compromised, as were the records for over 80,000 drivers. The fine, issued by the ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office), is small in comparison to potential GDPR fines. This is because the cyber attack took place in 2016 before the new rules came into force.

Had the cyber attack have happened this year, Uber could have faced fines in the millions.

Victims of Amazon data breach should take precautions

An Amazon data breach incident took place in the lead up to the big Black Friday sales a few weeks ago.

The incident reportedly stemmed from a technical problem.

In the data protection breach, customer names and email addresses were inadvertently posted on the company’s website. They were removed upon discovery of the error, and customers affected by the data breach have been informed.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is said to be looking into the situation.

Marriott data breach legal advice

If you need legal advice about the Marriott data breach, we can help. This is another huge breach that has led to private and sensitive data being exposed.

This has to be 2018’s mega breach. Although we thought the British Airways one was the breach to set the bar, this one is obscene in terms of data breached and the timeframe. Some 500 million customers whose data was on Marriott’s Starwood reservation database has been comprised since 2014. Anyone with data on the system up until 10^th September 2018 may be affected.

If you’ve received notification that you’re a victim of the Marriott data breach and you’re based in England or Wales, we can help.