In the past year there have been an array of high-profile data breaches from some of the UK’s biggest organisations including: British Airways, Dixons Carphone, and Ticketmaster UK.

It is alarming that such large established organisations have jeopardised not only their company’s data, but also the personal data of their customers, through their lack of cyber security.

Many cybersecurity experts believe that a data breach can occur due to a simple mistake being made possibly when updating systems or when processing the migration of data. Although there has been a substantial amount of investment placed on cybersecurity, there are still gaps in the basic procedures, which must be addressed.

In accordance with the Equality Act 2010, it is unlawful to discriminate against anyone because of their gender, sexual orientation or gender reassignment. These forms of discrimination occur frequently, especially amongst the LGBT community. LGBT consists of individuals who identity as a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender, who in recent years have experienced a vast level of discrimination in the workplace.

In order to understand the experiences of the LGBT community, the Government Equalities Office (GEO) conducted a national survey in July 2017 on the LGBT community, the largest of its kind. The survey focused on a variety of experiences that the LGBT community face every day in the UK including: personal safety, healthcare, education and employment.

Under the Equality Act 2010, organisations must provide reasonable adjustments in the workplace in order to accommodate anyone who has a long-term illness, impairment or disability.

A reasonable adjustment is where an employer removes or minimises anything, within reason, that disadvantages their employee.

‘Within reason’ is clearly important, as a small business would not likely have the resources to accommodate all employees who may be at a disadvantage, whereas larger organisations are more likely able to adjust.

Under the Equality Act 2010, It is deemed unlawful to discriminate against someone based on their gender. Sex discrimination usually occurs in work environments; therefore, employers should ensure that their policies and procedures in place to deal with any complaints regarding discrimination.

There are four different types of sex discrimination, including:

• Direct Discrimination, which occurs when someone treats you unfairly in comparison to someone of a different gender. An example of this would be if a pregnant employee was apprehended for being off sick because of her morning sickness. This is direct discrimination against pregnant women.

• SUPERDRUG HACK ON 20,000 CUSTOMERS

  

  Superdrug have recently announced that they have been the target of a data hack, with a warning to customers that their personal data may have been stolen.

  The health and beauty chain admitted that they had been contacted by someone who appears to be a hacker, claiming that they have obtained personal data from approximately 20,000 customers.

  A spokeswoman from Superdrug stated:

  “The hacker shared a number of details with us to try and prove he had customer information – we were then able to verify they were Superdrug customers from their email and log-in”.

  The company also confirmed that 386 accounts had been access, including customers’ names, addresses, data of birth, phone number, and Superdrug balance points, however luckily no card information was obtained.

  They sent out an email to their customers, in addition to a confirmation on Twitter stating: