Claim compensation for a ransomware attack

You could be eligible to claim compensation for a ransomware attack, and our leading firm of privacy lawyers may be able to represent you now on a No Win, No Fee basis.

In short, if more could have been done to have protected your personal information, there may be a breach of the GDPR. If we can prove that a breach of the GDPR has taken place, you could be entitled to pursue a case for compensation and you could be eligible for a pay-out of thousands of pounds in damages.

Claiming compensation for a ransomware attack

You could be entitled to claim compensation for a ransomware attack if we can prove that the organisation responsible for any misused or exposed information is liable for negligence. What this can mean is that there has been a failure to take all reasonable steps to adequately protect your information which has resulted in it being breached.

You would not normally pursue the hackers responsible for an attack. It is about pursuing the organisation that has been hacked on the basis that they have failed to secure their IT infrastructure to protect your information. This could arise from poor or inadequate cybersecurity, or where someone within the organisation has fallen for a scam email and allowed access to infrastructure, or perhaps access from hacked credentials.

The GDPR can entitle the victims of a cyberattack to claim compensation for any distress caused by the loss of control of personal information. You do not have to have lost any actual money to be able to pursue a case, as the distress from your personal details being exposed can be more than enough to justify a legal case.

An example of enforcement action

If a cyberattack has resulted in the misuse or exposure of personal information, not only could victims be entitled to claim compensation for a ransomware attack if this is what has happened, but regulatory action can also occur.

In a recent example, the UK’s data watchdog, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), issued a fine to Tuckers Solicitors LLP of London in the sum of £98,000. The was issued after Tuckers Solicitors reportedly became aware of a ransomware attack that affected its systems on 24^th August 2020, and it was identified that personal information had been breached. Breached information included sensitive personal details as well as some special category data.

The ICO determined the following:

“…during the period of 25 May 2018 to 25 August 2020 (“the relevant period”), Tuckers failed to process personal data in a manner that ensured appropriate security of the personal data, including protection against unauthorised or unlawful processing and against accidental loss, destruction or damage, using appropriate technical or organisational measures”.

This ransomware attack is understood to have resulted in the encryption of 972,191 individual files, which included 24,712 that were related to court bundles, according to the ICO. It is understood that 60 bundles were stolen and ended up on the web for sale.

Free, no-obligation advice

To find out if you are eligible to claim compensation for a ransomware attack, please do not hesitate to speak to our team here now and we will try to do all we can to help you.

For eligible clients, we are also able to offer No Win, No Fee legal representation as part of our commitment to access to justice.

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