Council email data leak compensation advice

You could be eligible to claim compensation for a breach that has arisen from a council email data leak, and we may be able to represent you on a No Win, No Fee basis.

In this article, we will look at some common examples, as well as defining what a data leak compensation claim actually is. You can also speak to our team today for free and no-obligation advice about your options for justice here as well.

As a leading firm of data breach compensation lawyers, we’re here to help.

Claim compensation for a council email data leak

You could be eligible to claim compensation for a council email data leak. There are many ways in which a data leak like this can take place, and it can easily happen. That being said, these kinds of breaches are also very preventable, and there should be no excuse for when it happens.

Despite the GDPR and the rules being clear in terms of not putting information at risk through poor practices and procedures, we still see a lot of these types of breaches. If the breach was preventable, and many are, victims can be entitled to successfully recover compensation.

Some examples where a case can succeed include:

• Data being sent to the wrong email address;
• The wrong data being sent to the right recipient;
• Attachments sent in an email that were wrong or should not have been there, exposing information;
• Data disclosed without consent;
• Mass email sent using the CC function instead of the BCC function leading to, at least, people’s identities being exposed. This can be very serious depending on the context of the email as well.

The latter one is probably the most common way an email data leak like this can happen. Although not a council leak, one of the most infamous examples to this day is the 56 Dean Street Clinic leak. The HIV status for hundreds was leaked, and it was all very preventable.

In short, there should be no reason to use such an archaic method to send mass emails. Trying to use the BCC function is a major risk, and there is readily available mass mailing software that should be used instead. This kind of accidental council email data leak is very preventable and will often lead to a successful claim for compensation.

What is Data Leak Compensation?

A data leak compensation claim is a legal case where you can pursue an organisation for financial damages. The GDPR can allow you to receive compensation for the misuse or your private information so, if it is leaked, you could be entitled to claim for this

You can receive compensation for financial losses and expenses, but you don’t have to have lost money or paid anything out to claim. You can recover compensation for the distress that you suffer that is caused by the loss of control of your personal information. As your information has been exposed, you have lost control over it and this can be distressing. Data breach compensation amounts can be in the thousands for this kind of distress, and this is the basis in which the majority of our cases are pursued.

You can speak to our team today for free, no-obligation advice about your options for pursuing a data leak compensation case.

Shropshire Council data breach: a recent example

In a recent example of a council email data leak, the Shropshire Star has reported that the common issue of the CC function being used in a mass email has led to information exposure.

Some 250 email addresses are understood to have been exposed as a result of addresses being visible in a mass email that was sent. The email is understood to relate to an invitation for a webinar about managing payments, and Shropshire Council is understood to be investigating the data breach.

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