NEWS & UPDATES

The healthcare industry has suffered massive breaches in both the U.K. and the U.S.; and it’s a growing problem.

Data breaches are happening all the time both here and across the pond in the U.S. In this story (which is based on figures from the U.S. but can be reflective of the U.K. too) the Breach Barometer found that nearly 1.5 million patient records were leaked in March of 2017.

The number of incidents in March reportedly rose by 2.5 times in comparison to January and February combined, with the largest incident involving nearly 700,000 patient records.
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The Information Commissioner’s Office has issued a £400,000 fine to Keurboom Communications Limited for harassing millions of people with unwanted nuisance calls.

The fine is reportedly the largest ever issued for nuisance calls. The fine brings the investigation to a close after thousands of complaints were received about the company’s nuisance calls.
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Cold calling gets on everyone’s nerves – no one wants to be hounded by companies trying to sell you something you don’t want.

Double glazing firm Brighter Homes Solutions has been fined £50,000 for nuisance calls to people who were registered on the Telephone Preference Service (TPS), which is a free service where you can register your details to opt out of marketing and nuisance calls.

Obviously, they shouldn’t have been cold calling them…
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Financial costs of data breaches do not come cheap; but how can you quantify such damage when it’s completely avoidable?

IT experts are calling for organisations to assign ‘real costs’ that are associated with breaches. There are many ways it can cost a business, from losing customers, to actual money through fraud.

There are hidden costs too, of course.
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Data protection has been pivotal in the U.K. since the introduction of the Data Protection Act (DPA) in 1998. Those who choose to go against this can be punished by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and fined accordingly.

This was exactly what happened to a former employee of a GP surgery who was found to be illegally accessed medical records.
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In 2014, the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) launched a mobile app for users to discreetly and conveniently report suspicious or illegal activity to the BART police. The ingenious app meant the police force’s watchful eye in monitoring illegal activity could be extended through helpful civilians.

The app was made by software developer ELERTS Corp. However, it seems the co-operative app may be used in reverse, as it has been alleged that the BART police can track and monitor users of the app…
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It is becoming impossible to ignore the new pandemic of cyber-crime…

A recent Dimensional Research survey was conducted to assess 410 security leaders. In recognition of this growing threat to the digital world, the survey found that mobile devices are “one of the weakest links in the IT infrastructure of most enterprises”.

Worryingly, mobile devices are what most of us have our eyes glued to all of the time.
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Can you trust anyone with your data nowadays?

The simple answer seems to be no when even the law enforcers don’t follow the rules. The Australian Federal Police (AFP) recently revealed that officers within the national agency were reportedly found to have accessed telecommunications data without a warrant.

According to the Guardian Australia, the AFP conducted 6 internal investigations in the past 18 months for allegations of professional misconduct against the officers who had access to telephone data.

Very worrying.
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Hospital breaches have been on an upward trend for years – and recent reports show that data breaches have been more prevalent than we think.

A report put together by Michigan State University noted that almost 1,800 data breaches occurred in more than 200 hospitals across the U.S. between 2009 and 2016.

On average, that’s 9 breaches per hospital!

The report assessed data that was provided by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) between October 2009 and December 2016.
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Although there are multiple lawsuits being made against Yahoo, the technology company may face a worldwide class action.

Back in August 2013, Yahoo reportedly compromised more than 1 billion accounts making it “one of the biggest data breaches in digital history”. It was reported that an “unauthorised party” hacked into the email accounts. Yahoo have since theorised that the hacks were “state-sponsored”.
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The Police Federation for Northern Ireland (PFNI) has called for a full inquiry after they were alerted to a data breach that may have put lives at risk.

The inquiry was prompted after a former investigating officer who worked at the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland (PONI) was arrested for allegedly stealing sensitive information. The information is believed to have security details and identification of service police officers.

Needless to say, this data in the wrong hands could put lives in danger…
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The NHS has been subject to severe criticism over the past few years in relation to its data security. Not only has the issue hit the UK public healthcare system, but it seems to be a pandemic issue that includes the private sector too.

This is evident where the personal details of 250 healthcare employees were stolen in a data breach. The data breach targeted approximately 250 employees at Hywel Dda Health Board in Wales.
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