Harry Styles fan’s data breach fears after receiving email with concert goers addresses still attached

A Harry Styles fan was left shocked after receiving an email with all the other customer’s address details still attached.

Alannah O’Neill Murray found the GPDR breach worrying and feared that the information could have serious consequences in the wrong hands. The email which was seen by Dublin Live was sent at 11:30pm on Tuesday night and was from MCD Access.

Alannah is a wheelchair user and the email contained accessibility information ahead of next Wednesday’s Aviva Stadium gig. Alannah sent organisers an email to express her concern. They later apologised and put the data breach down to “human error”.

Read more: ‘I will never go to Malahide Castle again’ vows concert goer after car park mayhem

She said: “The email came in really late. It came in at half 11 at night which is a bit demented.

“The info was all grand but I noticed that there was a string of email addresses in the sent. There were 16 email addresses.

“I sent an email back explaining the lack of bcc’ing which would have protected our identities. Everyone’s email addresses being sent to each other is a massive GDPR data breach. I’m sure everyone is lovely but just in case they’re not.

“I am very laid back with everything but it was handled so irresponsibly. Anyone can get your email address and if they don’t have good intentions they could start phishing and all that sort of things.

“I’m fairly internet literate but if someone else wasn’t that literate they could get scammed. Some people are also very sensitive asking for their access needs and sometimes it can be quite embarrassing to ask. They feel like it makes them a burden.”

Solicitor Simon McGarr, who is Director of Data Compliance Europe told Dublin Live it is a GDPR breach if companies share personal email addresses.

He said: “Companies sending out mass mailings should be aware that using the cc field instead of the bcc field will result in all the recipients receiving the others’ personal data. When that data indicates medical information about a person, there is a particular onus to take care not to expose it without a lawful basis.”

Dublin Live has contacted MCD for comment.

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