Government data breaches are serious, and here’s why

Government data breaches can be incredibly serious, and when you look at why, it’s obvious. Victims of these kinds of data breaches should know their rights for justice as well, and this goes for both national and local government organisations.

I heard recently that a survey suggested that some IT bosses in the public sector consider that the data they hold is not as valuable as data in the private sector. Clearly, some of these individuals do not grasp the gravity of the extent of data that’s stored and processed by public sector organisations and would do well to consider this.

Given the nature of the data that they hold, and for how many people, any breach, leak or hack can be serious.

Why government data breaches can be serious

There are around 58 million people in England and Wales alone. That’s a lot of people, and the data that may be held about them can be vast and sensitive. This is why government data breaches can be incredibly serious.

Public sectors organisations from councils to the government may hold data that includes:

• Personal and contact information at the very least;
• Banking, employment and general financial data for council tax reasons;
• Medical and potentially sensitive domestic information for social services and care requirements.

Documents that could be exposed may include National Insurance papers, copies of passports, tax returns, P45 and P60 documents; all sorts. This is precisely the kind of data that criminals could use to commit fraud and identity theft, so its value as a target is undeniable.

What can victims do?

Victims of government data breaches can be entitled to make a claim for compensation, and we can represent victims on a No Win, No Fee basis.

Data breach compensation amounts, valuations and pay-outs for these kinds of legal cases can be significant. This can especially be the case when the whole range of data referenced above is misused or exposed, as the distress that can be caused to victims can be substantial.

This is why claiming for compensation as the way of obtaining some form of justice for what has happened is so important. Although it would be far better – in an ideal world – if prevention over reaction was the way of things, we know that this just isn’t the case. Only when an incident has occurred does an organisation tend to then take action. Separately, victims can be entitled to claim damages as well.

What to do

Victims of government data breaches can be entitled to claim compensation with us.

Thousands of people have come to us for our unique help and expertise as a law firm that specialises in data breach compensation, and has done for a number of years. We’re also fighting for justice in dozens of different group and multi-party actions, and we’re often in the press speaking out as the voice of data breach victims in the UK.

You can speak to our team for free, no-obligation advice by contacting us today. Our office is usually open until 10pm on weekdays and 9am to 5pm on weekends.

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