NEWS & UPDATES

The WhatsApp agreement to stop sharing data with Facebook was hailed as a success for data protection rights when the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) investigated issues over consent for the sharing of data between the two platforms.

WhatsApp signed an undertaking (a formal agreement / promise) to confirm they would stop sharing data with Facebook until they could do so in compliance with this month’s GDPR changes.

Facebook acquired WhatsApp in 2014, but a move like that does not automatically allow for consent to share data.
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Data breaches are soaring, and only better cybersecurity and improved data protection training and protocols is going to stop the crisis worsening.

Almost every day we are seeing yet another breach somewhere around the world. With cyber-criminals getting smarter, and with many investing their ill-gotten gains back into their “business” to create more powerful tools, something needs to be done.

The new GDPR rules coming into force next month may be the catalyst needed for organisations to take cybersecurity more seriously.
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It isn’t just data from hacks and breaches that can give a criminal enough information to scam you; it can also be the wealth of data on social media platforms like Facebook that they use as well.

Sometimes, for a person to become a victim of fraud or identity theft, it can come down to a case of a cyber-criminal being able to obtain enough information about a person from various sources. One source could be from a hack or breach – which could from large-scale breaches such as telecommunications providers or dating websites. This can then be combined with another data source which we willingly put out there on the internet for all to see… On social media sites for example.
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Greater restrictions are set to be in place for the international transfer of data when the new GDPR comes into force next month. Current legislation already imposes restrictions and caveats on data transferred outside the EU, but the new changes are set to ensure that the additional protection GDPR allows for is not undermined outside of Europe.

In an increasingly globalised society, it’s easy for data to be fired around the world in a matter of seconds, but data moved outside of the UK cannot be allowed to be more vulnerable.
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If a company sends an email that is intended for you, but it goes to someone else’s email address then this is a data protection breach if the blame is on the company.

If the company has mixed up email addresses and sent your correspondence to another customer, or perhaps they noted the incorrect email address when you provided it to them; these are the scenarios for breaches.

But, what about compensation claims in these kinds of scenarios?
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If you’ve ever been left wondering just how the latest marketing company managed to get hold of your information, the reason can actually be very simple.

There are loads of companies out there who hold your data, and some may pass on or sell your data for profit; even when they’re not actually allowed to. Sometimes, it can be a lack of understanding as to how the data laws work, but most of the time it’s probably just a way of making easy money on the basis that they hope they won’t be caught.

But the UK’s data watchdog, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), is often on the case!
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75 MILLION nuisance calls!

You can probably guess what the nature of the calls were as well, right? It’s not hard to guess when pretty much everyone in the UK has been hit with these automated calls by companies who are desperate to find people to make PPI claims.

The company at the centre of this massive breach, the aptly named Miss-sold Products UK Ltd, reportedly made the automated marketing calls between November 2015 and March 2016, and they were the standard and annoying automated voice calls trying to push people to make PPI claims.
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There are masses of medical data stored on servers around the world and unfortunately hackers manage to find ways into these storage systems and gain access to this highly sensitive data.

This can be particularly relevant in the U.S., where their healthcare system means records are managed by a number of private organisations, or sourced to private entities whose responsibility is to manage medical records for several healthcare institutes. Although such ease of access can be beneficial from a medical perspective, the danger is the growing exposure of medical data to being hacked.
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Firms behind a massive 44 million spam emails, 15 million nuisance calls and millions of spam texts have been fined by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

The four companies at the centre of this mass tirade of nuisance marketing have been hit with fines totalling £600,000 by the UK’s data watchdog. The offending companies failed to have the proper agreement of their targets prior to contacting them, which is what landed them in trouble for their actions.
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The government has warned of the increased fines organisations face for breaching Data Protection rules from May 2018, which could see fines as high as £17m.

Utility firms, transport firms, the healthcare sector and infrastructure companies are being warned to develop more robust safeguards to defend themselves from data breaches and cyberattacks, or face the costly consequences.

With mandatory reporting and massive fines being implemented in the next few months, the warnings cannot fall on deaf ears.
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Giant online retailer Amazon has introduced its brand new service to stop thieves stealing your parcels from your doorstep: Amazon Key. Instead of leaving your parcel outside, Amazon wants to open your front door to drop off your parcel.

Does this sound like a good idea to you? Technology today can do almost anything, so surely something like this is just another step towards a brighter, more innovative future?

I don’t know about you, but it sounds rather risky to me…
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Vanquis Bank Limited reportedly instigated a campaign to promote and advertise its banking services by instructing a third party to send 870,749 spam text messages, and another 620,000 spam emails.

As recipients reportedly didn’t consent to receiving these types of messages, Vanquis were found in breach of the law and have been ordered to stop and pay a £75,000 fine.

Some 131 complaints about the texts were made to the 7726 spam reporting service.
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