An estimated 14,000 employees of the Liverpool NHS Hospital Trust were reportedly informed that their data had been compromised via email due to human error.
Files containing sensitive salary information were sent to hundreds of NHS managers and 24 external accounts. liverpool echo.
“The spreadsheet file contained hidden tabs containing personal information of staff members,” the letter read. “While it was not visible to email recipients, it did not need to be included in this spreadsheet. Information in this hidden tab includes name, address, date of birth, NI number, gender, ethnicity. , which contained salaries, but not bank account details.”
Sumner reportedly added that each of the 24 external recipients was notified and confirmed the deletion of the files.
“The data will be emailed to administrators within the organization, and within one hour of the error being identified, we will undertake to remove the email and data files from the system and take steps to prevent this from happening again. ,” the letter continues.
“We also commissioned an independent external review to assist in how we establish shared learning from the experience.”
This kind of human error is a common cause of data breaches. According to Verizon, the “Errors” category accounted for 13% of breaches analyzed last year. This contributes significantly to 82% of breaches characterized by the “human element”.
Christine Sabino, legal director at law firm Hayes Conner, said appropriate steps should be taken to protect employee and patient data given the risk of human error. .
“If personally identifying personal information is sent to the wrong recipient, the sender is clearly violating GDPR law and our staff may have grounds for compensation,” she added. .
“Employee data breaches can have serious consequences, often causing victims to face emotional distress and humiliation, leaving victims financially compromised or exposed to identity theft. We may even be connected.”
Editorial Credit Icon Image: chrisdorney / Shutterstock.com
