Thousands have personal data exposed in cyber-attack on recruiter Michael Page

It has been reported today that least 700,000 job-seekers who were signed up with recruitment agency Michael Page have had their personal details accessed by hackers. The cyber-attack is one of the biggest security breaches to hit a British firm and comes only days after 40,000 people with Tesco Bank accounts were affected by a cyber-attack that saw money stolen from bank accounts.

The sensitive, personal data includes email addresses, passwords, phone numbers and private job applications.

Lisa Waghorne, a solicitor at Hodge Jones & Allen who specialises in data protection breaches comments, “This latest cyber-attack will be concerning for those who have entrusted their private and sometimes highly confidential data to Michael Page. Although the company states that this was not a malicious attack, we have already been contacted by individuals who are worried about the potential impact, should details about them and their job applications become public. It is hoped that Michael Page and other corporations holding sensitive data on their clients are working to ensure that their systems are as robust as possible to guard against this increasingly common phenomenon.”