News
OpenText Security Solutions: Cornwall Council data breach: Children’s details published
May 2022 by Matt Aldridge, Principal Solutions Consultant at OpenText Security Solutions
A Cornwall council has accidentally published the personal details of five school children in publicly accessible meeting documents. It made the error when it published online documents for a meeting of its School Transport Appeals Committee. They have apologised for the data breach, which included their names, addresses and dates of birth.
Matt Aldridge, Principal Solutions Consultant at OpenText Security Solutions explain:
"Once data is exposed, it can fuel future cyber-attacks if it ends up in the wrong hands. The fact that data such as names, schools, home addresses and dates of birth has all been revealed is concerning, as it could be used for extremely targeted social engineering attacks on the families involved.
In the modern day and age, it’s crucial that all organisations work hard to ensure that sensitive data remains secure and protected. Organisations in every sector are now increasingly reliant on digital technologies to deliver their services, and it’s crucial that staff are properly trained on how to use systems to help prevent breaches, and that their skills are regularly tested. By participating in security awareness training, staff can learn to report possible security threats, follow company IT policies, and best practices and adhere to any applicable data privacy and compliance regulations such as the GDPR, PCI DSS and HIPAA – helping them to avoid incidents like this.”
