About 6,700 Irish ESB customers affected by huge data breach
Information relating to loyalty scheme in 2007-2008 was on compromised Loyaltybuild systems
The personal information of about 6,700 ESB customers is now known to have been included in a massive data breach affecting the Loyaltybuild company in Ennis, Co Clare.
Electric Ireland confirmed it had been informed by Loyaltybuild that the data breach had affected ESB customers who participated in a loyalty scheme run by the ESB in 2007 and 2008.
In total, about 1.5 million people across Europe have had their personal details compromised in the breach, including 80,000 Supervalu customers and 8,000 Axa customers.
In an update this evening, the Data Protection Commissioner said the latest affected data related to customer contact details of approximately 6700 ESB customers including name, address, phone number, email and a booking reference.
“ It is understood that financial data are not involved,” the office said..
Electric Ireland will be notifying affected customers.
The commissioner said customers should be vigilant about any unsolicited communications which may result from the data breach.
The commissioner sent investigators to the Ennis firm yesterday to investigate the breach. It is likely the office will examine, amongst other issues, why Loyaltybuild retained personal data relating to a 2008 loyalty scheme until as recently as last month.
Meanwhile, Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan said the online attack that has seen the banking and personal details of up to 1.5 million people across Europe being breached will lead to a difficult and complex criminal investigation because those responsible were most likely based outside the State.
However, the international nature of the crime would not frustrate the Garda’s cyber crime investigators in their efforts to catch those respand complex’ onsible, with many cases in the past involving crime syndicates overseas.
Some 80,000 Supervalu customers who bought its Getaway breaks between January 2011 and February 2012 have been hit as have 8,000 who took advantage of Axa’s leisure break rewards programme.
The Data Protection Commissioner’s office is investigating the breach and said it appeared to have happened in mid-October.
“These customers – who should by now have been notified directly by Supervalu and Axa – should examine their card transactions since mid-October to identify any such transactions that they did not authorise,” the commissioner’s office said.
“They should also follow the advice of their card provider on any further precautions that might be necessary to protect themselves.”
The office said the balance of the approximately half-million other cards that may have been affected by this breach relateed mainly to loyalty schemes operated by Loyaltybuild on behalf of companies based in other European countries.
ESB Customer Supply, which used Loyaltybuild for some marketing schemes “four or five years ago” confirmed today it had contacted the company to seek assurances that its customers were not affected by the breach.
Mr Callinan said that despite the criminal investigation now underway into the attack on the Co Clare based company providing customer loyalty scheme services to retailers across Europe, Irish consumers needed to take their own precautions.
Home of former Taoiseach Charles Haughey sold for €5.2 million
The 250-acre Georgian house at Kinsealy (Pictured above) in north Co Dublin acquired by Japanese businessman in hospitality sector
The Malahide mansion that once belonged to former taoiseach Charles Haughey has been sold to a Japanese businessman for a figure believed to be about €5.2 million.
Abbeville house and the 250-acre estate at Kinsealy in north Co Dublin will be taken over by the Japanese buyer whose background is in the hospitality sector.
It is not clear whether the 14-bedroom house, which is 10km from Dublin city centre, will be converted for commercial use, but it is understood the Gandon-built Georgian house, which is in need of repair, will undergo a three-year restoration.
Abbeville was placed for sale for €7.5 million by receiver Tom Kavanagh of Kavanagh Fennell on behalf of Bank of Scotland Ireland in May 2012.
Kavanagh Fennell is the receiver for Manor Park Homes, which paid more than €35 million when it purchased the estate for development as a luxury hotel and golf course in 2004. Manor Park Homes, owned by Joe Moran, went into receivership in 2011 with debts of €170 million.
The asking price for Abbeville dropped to €5.5 million this year when David Ashmore of Sherry FitzGerald auctioneers took over the sale. However the agent would not disclose the price that was achieved.
Kildare businesswoman Susan MacMillan O’Reilly is understood to have introduced the buyer to the agents. She will now assemble a team to restore the property to its former glory on behalf of her client.
The 14,600sq ft house, which dates from the 1770, was bought by Mr Haughey when he was minister for finance in 1969.
After its sale in 2004, the terms of the deal with Manor Homes allowed Mr Haughey and his wife Maureen to continue living there, though Mrs Haughey moved out in 2008.
Huge surge in gonorrhoea case infections in Ireland
The number of Irish people being diagnosed with gonorrhea has drastically increased, warned the HSE.
The health service today issued a notice, warning of the dangers of the sexually transmitted infection (STI) which has risen by 33% in since 2010.
The Leinster area has been particularly affected by the outbreak, in particular, Dublin.
THERE HAVE BEEN 1,077 CASES IN 2013 ALONE.
A surge in the spread of gonorrhea has become an increasingly common in other countries, particularly in the UK, which has seen a 21% rise in the same length of time.
Young heterosexuals and homosexual males are the two groups at highest risk of infection, according to the study, which was conducted by the HSE South East.
Gonorrhea is transmitted through unprotected sex, including oral sex and can be present without any symptoms.
Director of Public Health in HSE East Dr. Margaret Fitzgerald warned that sexually active individuals should use protection, and emphasised the importance of regular sexual health screenings, as untreated gonorrhea can lead to further complications.
“This upsurge in gonorrhoea is a cause of concern, as untreated or inadequately treated gonorrhoea may lead to severe complications including infertility in men and women,” she said.
“Also, emerging antimicrobial resistance is a major concern with gonorrhoea and it is possible that multidrug resistant gonorrhoea may become untreatable in the near future. ’
“We’re also concerned that infection with gonorrhoea may facilitate the transmission/acquisition of HIV, and because many cases are asymptomatic – approx 50% of women and 10% of men with urogenital gonorrhoea have no symptoms – many people may not be aware of their infection or risk’”
“Our ability to test for gonorrhoea has improved in recent years, and more sensitive tests, and more numbers attending for screening may account for some of the increase – however, we know that unsafe sexual behaviour is a significant driver of the increase in cases of Gonorrhoea and other STIs.”
The HSE has teamed up with Spunout.ie, Union of Students of Ireland (USI), THINK contraception and the Dublin Aids Alliance in order to raise sexual health awareness, with particular focus on campaigns for 2014.
Lough Neagh has lost 80% of its winter migrating birds says Queens Univ Belfast study
Lough Neagh, the largest lake in Ireland, has lost almost 80% of its winter migrating birds partly due to climate change, according to a study.
The research was carried out by Queen’s University, Belfast.
It found that the number of diving ducks spending winter months on the lake has dropped from 100,000 to fewer than 21,000 in a decade.
The QUB research also suggested that figure is likely to fall further.
The birds – the tufted duck, goldeneye, pochard and scaup – are the only types of diving duck that visit Lough Neagh in winter.
They are common in Britain and Ireland during northern Europe’s winter, but recent studies show that many now stop short on their annual journey.
One such study, published in the journal Global Change Biology, found that birds were more likely to stay in their northern summer breeding grounds because the lakes there were no longer freezing over during winter months.
Ecosystem
The study found that winter temperatures in northern Europe had risen by 3.8C in the past 30 years – meaning the birds no longer need to make the long journey south as they can continue to feed in the same place all year round.
According to research carried out by Quercus, Northern Ireland’s Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science, at Queen’s University, the ecosystem of Lough Neagh has also changed dramatically, leading to a big decline in the numbers of insects and snails living at the bottom of the lake.
“The number living at the bottom of the lake has fallen by two thirds in the past decade,” said Dr Irena Tománková, who led the study.
“This is because of better water quality and less pollutants in the water. While we want cleaner water, unfortunately the reduction of food for birds is the trade off.”
According to the study this – combined with the effects of global climate change – dramatically affects the numbers of migratory and overwintering water birds, a feature for which the lake is designated a Special Protection Area.
‘Dramatic changes’
“It’s unlikely that birds will stop migrating to Lough Neagh over the winter months altogether, but it seems likely that the number will continue to decline,” added Dr Tománková.
As a result Lough Neagh has lost some of its importance for overwintering water birds.
“It underlines the need for international conservation measures to apply across the entire range of these migratory species,” said Ian Enlander from the Northern Ireland Environment Agency.
“It is critically important for conservationists and policy makers to understand the reasons behind the dramatic changes that have been recorded at Lough Neagh,” he added.
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