Trust in short supply after cyber-attack

We are constantly being reminded to keep our personal data safe. Passwords used to access online accounts should, we are told, be ever more complex. The implication is that – unless we employ Byzantine access codes with a mixture of capital letters, symbols and random numbers – we will only have ourselves to blame if our personal details are stolen and our bank accounts drained.

But what if those we trust with our personal data have not taken similar precautions to keep us safe?

Yesterday it was revealed that Dixons Carphone had fallen foul of a cyber attack, resulting in the bank card details of almost six million customers being hacked. It is a terrifying breach – but hardly unique. In fact the firm is only the latest in a long line of huge companies to have been hacked.

Yet Dixons Carphone is unusual in that it has previous in this area.

The firm has already been fined £400,000 after a 2015 cyber attack exposed personal data. In that instance more than three million customers were potentially affected.

To compromise the security of so many customers once is troubling, to do so twice beyond careless.

It is quite right that members of the public are warned of the dangers when setting their own security measures – can we truly be confident that those we have no option but to trust are similarly careful?