Have you ever thought about the complications that can bring to your organization having a personal data information leak?

Last Friday, Altice, the operator that manages the SNS24 line, mistakenly shared the personal data of 1906 health professionals through an email.

The information sent in an attachment was not encrypted and was easily visible to recipients, disclosing the tax identification number, citizen card details, profession, nationality and place of birth of hundreds of doctors, dentists, psychologists and nurses.

After being contacted by several sources, the telecommunications company acknowledged the error: “Altice Portugal confirms that an employee, in sending a routine email to health professionals, mistakenly attached a file that contained personal data of these same professionals”.

Altice said it had already started “due diligence” with the aim of notifying the National Data Protection Commission (CNPD), immediately opening an internal process aimed at protecting personal data and determining responsibilities for this situation.

The human factor is one of the biggest culprits for cybersecurity breaches. According to a study more than “60% of companies have already suffered a cyberattack or a data breach caused by human error”.

In 2018, the Data Protection Regulation in Portugal came into force, with the main objective of introducing a new regime on the protection of personal data, in order to safeguard citizens against the processing of their private data.

If you have not yet implemented the GDPR in your company, Download our eBook now and get to know more about this service to improve your business. Strongstep has a set of cybersecurity specialists ready to guarantee the success of your company.