Welcome To The Data Leak Lawyers Blog

Is the ethical handling of data the new moral responsibility for businesses and organisations? Could it help gain a competitive advantage?

The ethical handling of data has always been the aim of data protection watchdogs and officials. Companies and organisations have the responsibility to handle data securely under the Data Protection Act (DPA), but there is a term known as ‘ethically handling data‘ that’s growing in popularity.

The difference with ethical handling of data and normal handling of data goes beyond privacy, some believe. It’s about whether customers are aware of how their data will be used and how it will be protected from third parties above and beyond what anyone would generally assume.
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NHS remote and automated systems: What are the concerns?

In the past few years, the National Health Service (NHS) has made attempts to expand and ease the pressure on its extremely busy and hectic services with use of new technology. This included setting up an entire NHS internal email system that allows staff to send ‘secure’ emails to each other to share ‘sensitive information’.

An electronic prescription service is also available that allows GPs to send a prescription directly to a pharmacy.

But in the increasingly interconnected digital world, what are the concerns over using such technology? Should we be worried?
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ICO fines Verso Group £80,000 for breaching data protection laws

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued an £80,000.00 fine to broking company Verso Group (UK) Limited. The ICO found that the company violated data protection laws because it didn’t adequately inform data subjects what was being done to their personal information.

Whilst investigating two other companies for breaches of the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations, the ICO noticed that Verso Group may have been supplying the two companies with personal information for the others to send unsolicited direct marketing communications to unwilling subjects. One of the companies, Prodial Ltd, was fined for making 46 million nuisance calls and was subsequently fined £350,000 by the ICO.
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The trends of council and local government breaches

Although we appreciate the hard work of those who work in our councils and local government bodies, data breaches in the public sector remain a big problem. In order to do their jobs, these establishments often need access to a lot of our personal data such as contact details, medical records, criminal records, etc.

We trust them with this information because, after all, they’re a part of the public establishment who are supposed to be there to look after our best interests. But there have been a large number of data breach cases that have left many worried about our data in their hands.
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How punishable is the misuse of private information?

In a world where millions of files can be transferred in mere seconds at the click of a button, it’s hard to keep on top of who knows what these days. With today’s ever-advancing technology, one photograph can go viral on a worldwide scale in a matter of minutes.

For those of us who prefer our most personal information to not be broadcast and shared with the world, it can be difficult to keep it private nowadays. The Data Protection Act (DPA) helps with this since it came into force in 1998, and it tells us that, in England and Wales, personal information must be protected and tightly controlled.

Any misuse of private information can be punishable.
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Freedom of press vs data protection – the big debate

As we prepare ourselves for the General Data Protection Regulation, an updated version of the Data Protection Bill is making its way through Parliament. The bill will hopefully give people more control over their personal data and greater enforcement powers when organisations don’t keep it safe or misuse it.

In addition to this, the House of Lords changed the way reporters can obtain and use personal information in the name of public interest. This means individuals can make a claim for their private information not to be disclosed before it’s already plastered on the headlines.

Some news outlets are not happy about it!
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Yet another NHS worker fined for accessing sensitive medical records without authorisation

It seems the NHS can’t keep its staff under control as yet another worker has been found guilty of accessing sensitive medical records without authorisation.

Linda Reeves reportedly abused her position as a former data coordinator with access to the Trust’s patient database by rifling through medical records belonging to colleagues, friends and neighbours. She did not have any consent or authorisation from patients or her employer as the data controller.

Reeves has since resigned from her job at The University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust.
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Nottinghamshire County Council fined £70,000 for leaving data belonging to vulnerable people exposed for 5 years

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) issued Nottinghamshire County Council a fine of £70,000.00 for leaving sensitive personal data exposed online for half a decade.

The watchdog discovered the council’s ‘Home Care Allocation System’ (HCAS) was shared with care home providers using a simple link that did not require a username or a password.

The system contained a lot of personal information belonging to prospective and current care home users. Created in July 2011, the council was finally alerted to the security risk when a member of the public searched for HCAS online in June 2016 and found files readily accessible and completely unrestricted.
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Celebrity Steve Coogan awarded six-figure sum in damages for phone hacking scandal

Known for his portrayal of fictional character Alan Partridge, comedian Steve Coogan was the victim of a hacking scandal that led to details of his personal life published in newspapers, revealing intimate information about his family life, sexual encounters and alleged drug use.

Coogan is amongst dozens of other celebrities who have settled damages claims against Mirror Group Newspaper for reportedly hacking their phones to obtain private information to seemingly publish it in the media and, we assume, sell more papers.

It was a horrid scandal, and the levels of damages awarded goes to show the extent the courts are prepared to go to when people are the victim of malicious hacking.
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Employees reportedly need updated data security training

As technology in industry improves, many employees are being provided with more and more advanced devices and software to help for a more efficient workplace. From unified portals to mobile devices, employees are often given shiny new tools to work with all the time; but do they know how to use them safely?

A significant proportion of data breaches can result from employee mistakes: from accidental emails being sent, to uploading information online, and hackers targeting vulnerabilities to gain entry into customer databases. Cybersecurity experts have long identified employees as one of the weakest links when it comes to securing data in organisations.
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