Data breach of 400 pupil records at school

The ICO are investigating a school in Hampstead following the discovery of a data breach of 400 students. The spreadsheet had been publically available for 18 months and included student names, their parent’s names, home address, phone numbers and email addresses.

The data had been derived from a mail shot and had accidentally been placed in a shared area; consequently leaving students and their parents vulnerable to unwanted contact and worse as the type of information available could easily be used for fraudulent criminal activity.

The ICO are currently investigating correct action to take, of which a penalty up to £500,000 could be awarded.  In addition to a fine by the ICO, failing to comply with the Data Protection Act could result in the school having to pay compensation to the individuals involved, a reduction in Ofsted ratings and having to cope with damaging media attention.

Information security is paramount in schools owing to the substantial amount of personal information they hold, which could cause serious distress if exposed.  It is imperative that schools spend time training staff and ensuring proper security procedures are in place for protection of data. This includes storing data in an encrypted format and ensuring regular change of passwords.

http://www.redstor.com/blog/index.php/2014/01/data-breach-of-400-pupil-records-at-school/

Target data breach is worst in retail history

On December 19^th, Target announced a data breach that equated to over 40,000,000 customer credit and debit accounts being stolen. However, the breach is now known to have affected over 70,000,000 Target customers; almost double the initial figure. Additionally, it was found that alongside credit and debit card information; customer names, email addresses, phone numbers and mailing addresses were also apprehended.

Prior to Target, the largest ever recorded data breach for a retailer was the theft of 45 million credit card records in 2007. As the investigation continues, the likelihood of more breaches being disclosed is probable with experts estimating breaches to total over 100,000,000.

Target’s CEO, George Steinhafel, exclaimed he “felt sick” at the news and recently said in a statement “We are not going to sleep until we get it right and we regain the trust of our guests. And we’re going to be better as a result.”

The data breach ran from November 27^th to December 15^th 2013 although customers who shopped at Target outside of this period may also be affected. Target are offering customers free credit monitoring for a year and have further reassured users they will not be liable for any fraudulent card charges that arise as a result of the data breach.

In today’s world there are more connected devices than there are people; creating ever growing challenges around cyber security and data protection and so it is fundamental for companies to guarantee appropriate protection for their customers and themselves.

Time and time again, Redstor report stories of organisations that fall victim to data breaches despite there being simple steps to prevent these matters occurring.  Redstor can guarantee that any data stored on our platforms will not be breached and is stored and processed in full accordance with data protection law. Our range of secure, encrypted cloud services will give you peace of mind that your business and customers information remains private. No one, not even Redstor, can access your data.

http://www.redstor.com/blog/index.php/2014/01/target-data-breach-is-worst-in-retail-history/

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