News
Professional and company news from the migrated Academy collection.
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100 million records stolen from US bank
Data breach at US bank: 100 million records stolen. The majority came from credit card applications of the bank's customers. Read now!
11 months of GDPR: What are the main findings?
The DSGVO came into force in May 2018. Find out more in this article about the most important findings of the last 11 months.
110 million Euro fine for Marriott hotel chain
At the end of 2018 a hacker attack on the Marriott hotel chain became known. Presumably 339 million customer data were compromised.
15.000€ for hotel because of photographed breakfast list
15,000 Euro fine for a hotel in Romania because a third party photographed and published a list with data of 46 hotel guests.
15000 Euro data protection fine Belgium
15.000€ fine for Belgian company for using Google tracking cookies without prior consent. Read it now!
18 million fine imposed on Österreichische Post AG
What specific breaches of the GDPR are ÖPAG accused of? You can find all the information in the article. Read now!
25,000 patient files found in empty building
Data breach at Helios Clinic: 25,000 patient files found in an empty clinic building. Find out more now!
30.000 Euro fine for defective cookie banner
Following the judgment of the European Court of Justice, the Spanish regulatory authority imposes the first fine on the airline Vueling.
Adaptation of data protection
Adaptation of data protection: The Bundestag decides to amend 154 laws, with negative consequences for the German level of data protection.
Anonymisation of Internet data often not secure
The Federal Data Protection Commissioner calls for more reliability and clarity with regard to anonymised internet data. Learn more!
Apple IPhone data failure
Apple data breach: iPhones allegedly spied on for two years by Chinese spyware. Read now and learn more!
Apple recordings for map services
When does Apple plan to shoot and which regions will be covered? Learn more to protect your privacy.
Appointing a data protection officer in Germany: the 20-person threshold
When must an organisation in Germany appoint a data protection officer? How Section 38 BDSG and Article 37 GDPR work together.
Attack on Microsoft Exchange Server: What to do now?
Attackers are exploiting various vulnerabilities and attacking Microsoft Exchange Server. Read what companies need to do now!
Ban on photography in schools not due to GDPR
The ban on photography in public institutions is not a consequence of the GDPR. What is questionable is the uncontrolled publication.
BfDI imposes fine on Rapidata GmbH
No appointment of a data protection officer despite repeated requests. Fines for small companies also expensive. Learn more now!
BfDI imposes fine on telecommunications service provider
The telecommunication service provider has to pay a fine of 9,550,000€ because of insufficient technical-organisational measures.
British government published private addresses of stars
The British government publishes the private addresses of around 1000 stars who receive the traditional New Year's Eve honours. Learn more!
Collection #1 in 2019: what credential stuffing still teaches us
Collection #1 exposed millions of credentials in 2019. Learn how to check affected accounts, replace reused passwords and prevent credential stuffing.
Compliance with data protection Coronavirus
Methods and TOMs for coronavirus preparation. Emergency, epidemic / pandemic or vaccination plans and checklists. Read now!
COVID-19 and data protection
What must data protectionists pay attention to in times of COVID-19 and data protection? Right to informational self-determination under pressure.
Criteria catalogue GDPR for business
Learn what questions data controllers should ask themselves in order to correctly implement the criteria of the basic data protection regulation.
Customer data visible at Amazon
Data failure at Amazon: Names and e-mail addresses of customers in Europe and USA have been made visible. Learn more!
Data breach and fine for Greek company
The Greek data protection authority has imposed a fine of EUR 200 000 on the telecommunications operator OTE. Read now!
Data breach at Adobe
Due to a security vulnerability, 7.5 million pieces of data from Adobe Creative Cloud users were publicly available. Learn more!
Data breach at Deutsche Bahn
In front of the Düsseldorf airport train station several boxes of files were found, which contained data of employees and passengers.
Data breach at Klarna
Autofill data breakdown at Klarna: Third party data such as postcode and e-mail can be viewed. Read what you need to know privately!
Data breach at LKA Lower Saxony
Data breakdown at the LKA: On 08.05.2019, a briefcase containing sensitive information was allegedly stolen from an official's private car.
Data breach at Mercedes Benz
Several customers of the Mercedes-Me App got temporarily the data of other users displayed. Only customers from the USA were affected.
Data breach at Phoenix: sensitive data sent by pharmacies
A Phoenix employee unintentionally sent sensitive data from 211 pharmacies. Data protection officers were involved. Read now!
Data breach at the city council of Magdeburg
The cause is a failure of computer programmes in the citizens' office of the Magdeburg city administration. No personal data was passed on to third parties.
Data breach at the city of Winsen
For eight months, a list of people banned from the office building was publicly available on the city of Winsen's website.
Data breach at the FDP Saxony
Data mishap at the FDP Saxony: The party has sent data to the wrong members. Learn more!
Data breach at the Gütersloh Job Center
Data breakdown at the Gütersloh Job Center: Unshredded files were disposed of in blue paper bins and were accessible to everyone. Read ➨Jetzt!
Data breach at UniCredit
Data breach at UniCredit: The Italian bank is the victim of a hacker attack. Around 3 million names, email addresses and telephone numbers were obtained.
Data breach Biometric data
Data breach at Korean security company Suprema. Data on fingerprints and facial recognition were publicly accessible.
Data breach employees fashion house H&M
Data breach H&M: The Swedish fashion house is accused of having sounded out its employees' health data. Read it now!
Data breach in Ecuador
Ecuador data breach: Personal data of 17 million people from Ecuador published online on Elasticsearch servers. Read now!
Data breach in medical practice: patient data online
Patient data of a medical practice can be viewed online for several months. The reason was a weakness of the router used. Read now!
Data breach Mastercard
Data breach at Mastercard: Mobile phone numbers and addresses of roughly 90,000 users of the bonus program Priceless Specials have surfaced online
Data breach Microsoft customer records leaked
250M support requests to Microsoft were viewable online for two days in December 2019. Security researchers reported a data breach to Microsoft.
Data breach on Facebook Messenger for kids
On Messenger Kids, kids can chat with users approved by parents. A technical error allowed chatting with strangers.
Data breach patient data sent to wrong recipient
Nationwide NDR survey revealed that patient data is sent to the wrong recipients. Now data mishaps are threatening fines. Read it now!
Data breach: health data
Data mishap in the health care system: About 16 million highly sensitive data records from 50 countries worldwide stored on servers without password protection.
Data breach: police headquarters Neubrandenburg
Police officer from Neubrandenburg confuses e-mail address with press distribution list and sends request of a private person to 158 media representatives.
Data breakdown frequent flyer programme Miles & More
Lufthansa's frequent flyer programme Miles & More confirms data breakdown. Thousands of users had access to foreign profiles. Read now!
Data breakdown school Sweden
Swedish Data Protection Agency imposes first fine for DSGVO violation concerning the processing of biometric data.
Data failure Bavarian Red Cross
The LDA has started investigations against the Bavarian Red Cross for possible transfer of health data to Facebook.
Data failure in the district office Coburg
Data breakdown at the District Office in Coburg: 12,000 documents, e-mails and passwords from a hard disk published. Learn more now!
Data leak at petition platform WeAct
Data leak WeAct Campact: According to the operator of a petition platform Campact, lists of signers were publicly viewable.
Data protection and data security while working from home
What do employers and employees have to consider regarding data protection and data security in the home office? Read concrete tips now!
Data protection and digitalisation
Unfortunately, the basic data protection regulation has only been in existence for a year: Find out how the DSGVO makes companies fit for the digital future.
Data protection and press freedom: regulations for journalists
In Germany, freedom of the press is regulated by the media privilege. Read more about the rights and duties of journalists in the article.
Data protection breakdown affects police officers
Data breach at Thuringian police. At the Unstrut-Hainich police station, personal data of 134 police officers was sent unencrypted.
Data protection fine due to revocation of consent
How did the company violate the GDPR and receive a fine? What should be considered when withdrawing consent? Read now.
Data protection fine for hospital in Rhineland-Palatinate
In addition to various data protection violations, one patient was confused when he was admitted to the hospital. Find out more!
Data protection fine for the City of Oslo
Data protection fine for the City of Oslo: 50,000 Euro because patient data was incorrectly processed by the city. Find out more now!
Data protection fine for using the Bradford factor
Evaluation of sick days using Bradford factor violates DSGVO. Fines of 82,000 euros enforced. Read now!
Data protection fine imposed on the Municipality of Oslo Education Authority
120.000€ fine for not ensuring the security of the app "Skolemelding" for communication between school staff, parents and pupils.
Data protection fine la Tribuna de Pamplona Spain
Spain Data Protection Fines 50,000 euros for publication of personal data offence in 2018 was committed without their consent.
Data protection fine Swedish company
Swedish company fined for violating three laws. Credit information has been made public. Read now!
Data protection Fines Energy Italy 11 million euros
Data protection fine of Euro 11 million for energy suppliers for advertising and illegal contracts. Find out more now!
Data protection in the USA - Part 1 of the delegation trip
The GDPR is controversial in the US. Nevertheless, the impact of the GDPR on European/US relations is emerging.
Data protection in the USA - part 2 of the delegation visit
Data protection in the USA: Find out what role the GDPR plays at Microsoft and Amazon AWS. Read now!
Data protection in the USA - part 3 of the delegation visit
Data protection in the USA: How are start-ups supported in the USA and which cybersecurity companies are there. Read now!
Data Protection Law China: Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL)
Understand China’s PIPL, when it applies to European businesses and how to assess personal information transfers under the current CAC rules.
Data protection officers report from the field
What are the most common privacy challenges practice? ️Datenschutzbeauftragte report from practice. Read now!
Data protection result of 18 months GDPR
DSGVO balance sheet 2019: high implementation costs hinder companies, number of data protection fines rising. Find out more in our DSGVO info graphic.
Data range Facebook phone numbers
Facebook data mishap: 420 million records, including telephone numbers freely accessible on the Internet. Read now and learn more!
Datenpanne Spielemesse E3
list contained 2,000 records of trade visitors. The journalist Sophia Narwitz drew attention to the data breach in a YouTube video.
Dispute over the use of social networks by public authorities
Data protection and use of social networks by public authorities: Important instrument or contradiction in terms? Learn more!
DSGVO Fine British Airways
200 million fine for British Airways: The first fine enforced in Great Britain is surprisingly high, the airline announced an appeal.
DSK data protection fine concept
DSK's German fine model is designed to ensure greater transparency and systematic, comprehensible fine calculation. Read now!
Dutch fine against hospital
Dutch regulator fined for inadequate security of patient records at Dutch hospital.
ECJ ruling on data protection and cookies
Judgement of the European Court of Justice strengthens consumer rights: Cookies only with voluntary active consent. ➨ Learn more now!
End of support for Windows 7
From 14.01.2020, support for Windows 7 will end. Why does this mean a high risk for data protection and IT security? Read now!
EU AI Act: which obligations apply to your organisation?
Identify your AI Act role, screen for prohibited or high-risk uses, check transparency and AI-literacy duties, and verify the changed 2026 timetable.
EU Data Act: who is affected and what should they check?
The EU Data Act has applied in large part since September 2025. Check the rules for connected products, data access, business contracts and cloud switching by role.
Examples of data breaches
According to Art. 33 DSGVO, data breaches must be reported to the supervisory authority. Examples of data breaches in data protection. Read now!
Examples of GDPR fines: what happens in data protection
Examples of DSGVO fines: Find out which data protection violations are suspected and secure yourself. Read now!
Experts take stock of the GDPR
Experts take stock of the DSGVO: strengthening the EU's market power, more clarity in the interpretation of authorities and courts. Read now!
FaceApp: a questionable trend in terms of data protection
The FaceApp Challenge, a trend with which a lot of personal data is given away. We say: extremely questionable in terms of data protection!
Facebook fine $5 billion
The unauthorised processing of Facebook user data by Cambridge Analytica led to heavy fines and structural changes.
Fine imposed on Romanian company Artmark Holding SRL
The reason was the transmission of advertising messages by e-mail without the express and unambiguous consent of the persons concerned. Read now!
Fines against Elefant Online
Data protection fine for Elefant Online SA due to e-mail communication not conforming to DSGVO. Read the article now and learn more!
Fines against Raiffeisen Bank and Vreau Credit
Raiffeisen Bank and Vreau Credit checked the creditworthiness of individuals. Personal data was exchanged using WhatApp.
Fines enforced to date by supervisory authorities
These fines were enforced by regulatory authorities. Learn what went wrong and what you can do better yourself.
Fines imposed on public bodies in Belgium
Fine for public bodies mayor and city council in Belgium. Data used illegally for election campaigns.
Fines reach energy sector
Fines imposed by data protection authorities reach the energy sector. The Italian data protection authority imposed a fine of 2 million euros.
GDPR and Brexit
Brexit has consequences for data protection. What should be considered when transferring personal data? Read now!
GDPR protects fundamental civil rights
The General Data Protection Regulation has only been in effect for one year, which is unfortunate: Discover how the GDPR helps to defend basic civil rights.
GDPR ruling video surveillance medical practice
Data protection and video surveillance: How can you apply the BVerwG ruling to your practice? Read more.
German Whistleblower Protection Act: duties for employers
Who needs an internal reporting office under Germany’s HinSchG? Understand reporting channels, deadlines, confidentiality and practical setup.
Google stores location data of Android users
Location data stored by Google, Android users are affected. It is recommended to change the device settings.
Hackers steal customer data in medium-sized businesses
Automated hacker attack presumably from abroad, 221,000 captured customer data. Learn more now!
Hamburg imposes data protection fine on Facebook
The reason is the failure of the DPO to notify the supervisory authority. Find out what you have to consider when reporting.
Highest data protection fine to date hits Delivery Hero
In August, the Berlin data protection commissioner had already imposed the highest German fine to date, amounting to 195,407 euros.
Innovation Driver GDPR
Unfortunately, the basic data protection regulation has only been in existence for a year: Find out why the DSGVO is an innovation driver of digitisation.
Investigation by the Greek supervisory authority
Investigation by the Greek Data Protection Inspectorate into the control of employee e-mail and video surveillance. Read now!
Italian data protection supervisory authority imposed 27.8 million fine
telecommunications operators of unlawful processing for marketing purposes. Millions of people affected. Learn more now!
Massive data breach at car rental company Buchbinder
Bookbinder data mishap: Over 2.5 million German customers affected. Use your right to information. Find out more now!
Massive data breach at the Russian secret service
Data leak at the Russian secret service FSB: Hackers are said to have stolen data on current projects and operations from the spy agency.
Microsoft Office 365 data protection under criticism
Microsoft Office 365 is questionable from a data protection perspective. Most recently, its use in schools has come under criticism. Read now!
Million Euro fine against Deutsche Wohnen
The Berlin data protection authority has imposed 14.5 million fines on Germans. For what you can read in the article. Read it now!
NIS2 in Germany: who is covered and what to do
NIS2 in Germany: check whether your organisation is covered, then plan risk controls, management oversight and staged incident reports under the current BSIG.
Plauen District Office Office Protection of the Constitution
Personal data of citizens registered for meetings were reported. A violation of data protection and freedom of assembly.
Polish fine public body
First Polish fine against public institution: 40,000 zloty for mayor of the city Aleksandrów Kujawski. Read now!
Privacy fine for pharmacy in London
Pharmacy in London receives £275,000 data protection fine for breach of secure data retention Read it now!
Privacy issues in 2020: Interview with the BfDI office
Read about data processing by Facebook, Google & Co. Fines by supervisory authorities. Effects of the Brexit on data protection.
Quotes Digitisation, Data Protection, IT Security
Quotes on data protection, the commercial use of our data and emerging technologies of digitalization. Read now!
Robin Data Founders Award 2019
Robin Data is awarded the 2019 Founder's Prize for innovative ideas and successful company start-ups.
Romanian fine Inteligo Media
Fines against Inteligo Media: e-mail communication not conforming to DSGVO. Which concrete violations caused the fine? Read now.
Salary data of a social club published
Salary data has been published. Personal data accessible via the internet should be securely put online.
Security incident in hospital IT
Hospital IT security incident due to malware caused significant disruption to hospital operations. Read now!
Smart home privacy: risks and practical safeguards
Learn what data smart home devices collect, which privacy and security risks matter, and how to secure connected devices with a practical checklist.
Swiss health insurance company sends statements incorrectly
Once again, billing data has been sent to the wrong customers via the online portal of the Swiss health insurance company. Read now!
The EU-US Data Privacy Framework
All information on the EU-US Data Privacy Framework: development, significance for companies, checklist. Find out more now!
The five most common misconceptions about data protection
The blog article deals with the five most common mistakes regarding privacy and puts them right.
Theft of customer data craft enterprise
A goldsmith was robbed in Halle (Saale) on 30 January 2019. Thieves stole jewellery and customer data. Read now!
Twitter user data advertisers
Twitter user data may have been shared with advertisers. The company said the data breach was fixed on Aug. 05, 2019.
WhatsApp and data protection
Current data-protection guidance for private and business use of WhatsApp, including contacts, legal bases and organisational safeguards.