Following news stories in the past few days, it’s understandable you might be concerned about your data. The UK’s elections watchdog, Electoral Commission, revealed on Tuesday it had been the victim of a “complex cyber-attack” potentially affecting millions of voters. It also emerged personal details of police officers in Northern Ireland were published accidentally.
How safe is my data?
Generally, when public organisations such as the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) respond to Freedom of Information requests they should remove any identifying data. But in this case the force published confidential details by accident, leaving some officers and their families with concerns about their safety.
Regarding the cyber-attack affecting UK voters, the Electoral Commission has apologised to those affected but says on its website the data it holds is “limited, and much of it is already in the public domain”.
Usually, an average person affected by a data leak or hack should not panic.
If you are concerned about a different data breach, and are worried your information may have been lost, there are also websites which will tell you if your email was part of a known data breach. The Electoral Commission specifically recommends people use the free online service Have I Been Pwned (sic) to check this.
What can I do to keep my data safe?
If you believe your password to an account may have been compromised, it makes sense to change it.
Another thing people can do is to remain vigilant online to avoid any data loss. Recent research from Barclays released on Wednesday shows that 87% of all scams take place on tech platforms, such as dating apps, social media and online marketplaces.
There are a few simple steps you can take to stay safe online, which can help protect your data - and your wallet.
These include using a strong password for each site you visit, avoiding emails from people you do not know, and being careful when visiting unfamiliar websites.
A further list is available from Action Fraud,the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud and cyber crime.
On a personal level, there is only so much a user can do then the responsibility falls on the data holders and, frankly, they’re not doing a very good job:
Top data breach stats for 2023
- Number of people affected to date in 2023: 364,121,588+
- 2023’s biggest breach to date in 2023: Twitter, with allegedly 235 million emails leaked
- UK’s biggest breach: 40 million UK voters’ details exposed
- US’s biggest breach: 37 million T-mobile customers affected
- Number of potential records compromised in August: At least 40,000,000
- Number of potential records compromised in May: At least 17,363,243
- Number of potential records compromised in April: 1,920,000
- Number of potential records compromised in March: 31,413,302
- Number of potential records compromised in February: 25,342,580
- Number of potential records compromised in January: 288,082,463
- Number of personal records compromised by telecom providers: 47,000,836
- Number of personal records compromised in the healthcare sector: 25,949,000
- Number of personal records compromised in the finance sector: 365,000
- Data leaks caused by threat actors: 290,046,243
- Data leaks caused by hacking: 89,240,580
- Data breaches caused by third party data exposure: 11,354,000+
- Data breaches caused by human error: 392,466
A further 29 percent said they had encountered a data breach event less than once a month in the past 12 months. Meanwhile, 11 percent said they had experienced a data breach incident once a week.
Monday 5 June 2023
The BBC, British Airways , Boots and Aer Lingus have been caught up in a cyber incident that has exposed employee personal data, including bank and contact details, to hackers.
A ransomware group named Clop has claimed responsibility for the breaches centred around the MOVEit file transfer software. It had allowed the hackers to access information on a range of global companies using MOVEit Transfer. Thousands of firms are understood to be affected.
BA, however, confirmed it had been caught up in the affair. The airline employs 34,000 people in the UK. The BBC and Boots, which has 50,000 staff, said they had been affected too.
The broadcaster did not believe its employees’ bank details had been exposed though company ID and national insurance numbers were compromised.
Current and former staff at Aer Lingus have also been affected, the airline said, but no financial or bank details nor phone numbers were compromised in the incident.
On a local level, today: