Cyber-attacks on UK councils: your rights

Cyber-attacks on UK councils can lead to the victims suffering significant distress as a result of the loss of control of their personal information.

The law can entitle victims to be able to claim data breach compensation for the misuse and/or exposure of private information. With councils and local authority agencies holding so much data about so many people, they’re a clear target for cybercrime. There are also concerns that not enough is being done to protect data as well which we will go into in this article here.

Victims do not have to suffer in silence. We can offer No Win, No Fee representation for eligible clients for legal cases as well.

Why we are concerned

Even recent research has indicated that councils and local authority agencies may still not be doing enough to protect themselves from cyber-attacks. There appears to still be a lack of consistency and collaboration, and it could be somewhat of a postcode lottery in terms of how well protected people’s information really is.

As a go-to name for the media as a leading firm of data breach compensation specialists, we have commented many times about these issues. There must be proper investment in cybersecurity, from specialist software in place to employing the right kind of people with the expertise and knowledge to manage security. All employees across the board should also be trained and be a part of the effort in ensuring that information is protected. Any defence is only as good as its weakest link, and humans are often the weakest link.

How can residents ever feel confident enough that their information is in safe hands given how often cyber-attacks on UK councils are taking place? This is in addition to the worries outlined above.

What can victims of cyber-attacks on UK councils do?

The victims of cyber-attacks on UK councils can be entitled to claim data breach compensation. We represent thousands of clients for cases on a No Win, No Fee basis, and we may be able to help you too.

Council data breach compensation claims are one of the most common types of individual cases that we take forward for people. Victims can be eligible to receive damages for the distress suffered by the loss of control of their personal information. If any money has been lost or paid out as well, this could also be accounted for.

Importantly, the GDPR means that you can just claim for the distress element alone.

Data breach compensation pay-outs for cases like this can be substantial. One of the reasons that criminals may target councils and local authorities can be because of their known lack of investment in security, and due to the nature of the information that they store and process. The data they process can be wide-ranging, from the usual personal details to financial information for council tax payments, and even sensitive medical and domestic information required as well.

Free, no-obligation advice

Our team is on hand now for free and no-obligation advice about your options for claiming compensation for cyber-attacks on UK councils.

We can normally tell you in minutes if your legal case is one that we are prepared to take forward for you on a No Win, No Fee basis. You can visit our Contact Page for several ways to get in touch today.

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