Data protection at the forefront in the lead up to general election

Robust cybersecurity is front of stage again as news of two attempted cyber attacks on Labour were exposed.

The party has claimed that no personal data has been breached in what has been described as "large scale and sophisticated" attacks.

Kingsley Hayes, managing director at data breach and cybercrime specialist Hayes Connor Solicitors, said: "Significant amounts of private data is being stored, processed and shared by all political parties in the run up to the general election with news of two cyber attacks on the Labour party highlighting the importance of robust cybersecurity measures at all times.

"The ICO wrote to all political parties at the beginning of November reminding them to adhere to data protection laws after it found concerns following its investigation in 2018 into how data analysis was being used for political purposes.

"The recent attempted cyber attacks highlight the value of personal information and the importance of ensuring that private data is not only adequately protected within an organisation's own digital platforms, but that all organisations must also take responsibility for how personal information is stored, processed and shared within its supply chain.

"Time will tell whether hackers Lizard Squad, who have claimed responsibility for the cyber attacks on Labour, will repeat its attempts. All political parties should be reviewing the robustness of their cybersecurity measures as any data breaches will most certainly erode public confidence."

Hayes Connor has been appointed as data protection supplier to the Communication Workers Union and is currently acting for thousands of claimants.

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https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/labour-cyber-attack-lizard-squad-ddos-corbyn-general-election-a9202006.html