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ico and illegally-obtained data
May 29, 2018

UK’s data watchdog the ICO has only collected half of data breach fines since 2010

The UK’s data watchdog, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), has reportedly only collected half of data breach fines since 2010.

One of the major problems the ICO is apparently facing is the organisations who are responsible for the data breaches going into liquidation and avoiding large fines, which the ICO has little power to stop. Despite the ICO asking the government for the power to enforce fines against company directors, something the government reportedly said they would look at in 2016, they remain unable to pass fines on to bosses, leaving a large loophole in the data breach justice system.

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By Matt
hackers
May 22, 2018

Children can be hit worst by data breaches

 

The study’s findings claim that millions of children are victims of identity fraud that can lead to families being millions of pounds out of pocket. The study also indicated that children can be far more likely to have their information compromised, and researchers saying that children are targeted more because they offer a “blank slate” when it comes to their identities and financial histories.

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By Matt
data breaches
May 14, 2018

ICO issues “record fines” over illegal trade of personal data

The ICO has issued “record fines” over an illegal trade of personal data that involved “rogue private investigators” illegally obtaining financial information for an individual who’d claimed on an insurance policy for a fire at a business premises they owned.

A director and a senior member of staff, together with the private investigators, have been hit with record fines for unlawfully obtaining and disclosing personal data. The investigation reportedly started in 2013 when the Serious Organised Crime Agency passed over a list of ‘blue chip’ clients of criminal private investigators to the ICO.

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By Matt
social media scammers
May 01, 2018

The WhatsApp agreement to stop sharing data with Facebook

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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By Matt
sign-up for a Virgin Media data breach
April 23, 2018

New GDPR rules could see reported data breaches soaring

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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By Matt
social media scammers
April 16, 2018

The wealth of data on social media platforms like Facebook is a gift to cyber criminals

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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By Matt
new gdpr rules for international data transfer
April 09, 2018

Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) looks at the key GDPR points over international data transfer

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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By Matt
email address breaches can you claim for compensation
March 30, 2018

Can you claim compensation when a company sends an email to the incorrect address?

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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By Matt
ico and illegally-obtained data
March 26, 2018

Recent ICO enforcement action over the trade and use of illegally-obtained data

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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By Matt
unwanted marketing calls
March 19, 2018

Company fined for making 75 MILLION nuisance calls!

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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By Matt
large medical healthcare data breaches
March 12, 2018

The mass-handling of medical data: can the dangers ever be stopped?

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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By Matt
banking app scams
March 05, 2018

4 companies fined £600,000 by the ICO over spam and nuisance marketing

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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By Admin

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