"Data Leak Hits Thousands of NHS Workers"

According to reports, an estimated 14,000 employees at a Liverpool NHS hospital trust have been informed that their data was leaked via email due to human error.  Victims received an apology letter from the hospital trust's chief executive James Sumner.  Sumner noted that a file containing sensitive payroll information was sent to hundreds of NHS managers and 24 external accounts.  The spreadsheet file included a hidden tab that contained staff personal information.  Sumner noted that while it was not visible to those receiving the email, it should not have been included in this spreadsheet.  The information in this hidden tab included names, addresses, DOBs, NI numbers, gender, ethnicity, and salary.  It did not include bank account details.  Sumner reported that each of the 24 external recipients have been notified and confirmed the deletion of the file.  Human error of this sort is a common cause of data leaks.  According to Verizon, the "error" category accounted for 13% of breaches it analyzed last year.  It contributed to a massive 82% of breaches that feature the "human element."

Infosecurity reports: "Data Leak Hits Thousands of NHS Workers"