95% of Brits unaware of major data breaches

The majority of people in the UK are unaware that major companies have had large data breaches in the past six years, putting their private information at risk of exposure, or worse, according to new research from legal experts at Simpson Millar.

The analysis highlighted that many major companies, public organisations and government bodies have had some form of data breach in the last six years, yet 95% of the UK public are unaware of this fact.

A data breach happens when sensitive or confidential information (such as financial information, passwords, or heath records) is accessed by an individual who is not authorised to do so. The term “data breach” covers everything from millions of records being lost, to a single individual viewing information they should have not seen.

Just one in twenty (5%) were aware that popular business messaging platform, Slack, had suffered a data breach; just 6% understood that leading website and blog building system, WordPress had been the victim of a data breach; and just 7% of people knew social news site, Reddit had suffered from a data breach in the last six years – despite all of the sites and services being commonly used by people in the UK, every day.

Worryingly, two in ten (19%) Brits believe none of the above companies suffered from a data breach in the last six years, when in fact all of them had experienced one – although the scale of the breach does vary.

Data breaches can happen through hackers deliberately targeting sites, poor security measures or simply when data is accidentally published. They can also be caused by human error, such as a laptop with sensitive information being left in a public place.

The majority of Brits are also unsure about what action they should take if they suspect their details may have been acquired in a data breach. Just four in ten (39%) believe they know what to do to secure their data. Over half (56%) admitted to not knowing what action to take, and one in twenty (5%) claimed they would do nothing.

Criminal activity

A third of Brits (32%) are also unaware of what criminals can do with their data – leaving them worryingly exposed.

Criminals can use stolen data to impersonate someone, and can then do various things in their name, such as applying for credit cards and loans, or making fraudulent purchases, or even transferring funds. Hackers can also sell the data they have stolen on the dark web, where other criminals can use it to impersonate someone or access their accounts.