Confidential children’s data leaked on the net
A major security breach at a firm advising on enrolment to some of the country’s top independent schools has seen the confidential details of thousands of children leaked onto the internet.
Gabbitas, the firm behind the blunder, inadvertently posted names, addresses and confidential notes on pupils personality, achievements and health to public Google searches rather than a secure internal server.
Some 1,367 records were affected in total, including high profile family records of a television actor, pop star and a former cabinet minister.
Some of the details made public include written notes by parents outlining their children’s perceived weaknesses and health issues; covering everything from being easily distracted to dyslexia.
Gabbitas charges a minimum of £199 per hour for its services in sourcing the right school for their child, often pupils of the country’s top public schools who are seeking less demanding environments.
Prospects Services, owner of Gabbitas, only pulled the plug on the website after being alerted by the Telegraph newspaper and claimed that the error stemmed from a ‘cyber attack’.