Data breaches can put your sensitive information in the hands of criminals

In the digital age, it is almost impossible to not provide personal information online, which could put your sensitive data in the hands of criminals if a breach occurs.

We have to trust companies to keep our sensitive data private and secure, but companies often suffer data breaches, both big and small. These breaches can be the result of many things, including system errors, cyber-attacks, employee errors, or poor security measures.

We are experts in the niche area of data breach law as a leading firm in the UK and can help eligible victims of a data breach claim the compensation that they deserve.

Claim for your information in the hands of criminals

You could be eligible to make a claim today if your personal information has been put into the hands of criminals.

When considering factors for your claim, some of the most common factors we look at include:

• Damages for being a victim generally of a breach;
• Compensation for any stress, worry, and anxiety caused;
• How your personal profile is affected by a breach;
• Any recognised psychological injury or depression that is caused by the incident;
• The effect that the leak has had on your social and domestic life;
• Lost earnings from time off work or for lost earnings if you must leave your employment as a result of a breach;
• Any other financial loss or expense that has been caused as a result of the incident;
• Private treatment expenses if this can help.

It is also down to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) to investigate a data breach and impose a fine on the organisation if it is deemed to be necessary. The fine imposed should be large enough to have a ‘dissuasive effect’ on other organisations in efforts to maintain data security as a high priority.

Unfortunately, the list of large data breaches grows each year. You might be surprised that there are huge global organisations on that list, including British Airways, Equifax, EasyJet, Ticketmaster and Virgin Media. The scale of these breaches is shocking: the 2018 British Airways data breach and the 2017 Equifax cyberattack each affected hundreds of thousands of people, and Virgin Media involved 900,000 people’s data alone.

Whilst not all data breaches involve that many victims, any information exposed could end up in the hands of criminals, which can leave victims vulnerable to financial fraud, phishing scams, cyberattacks and serious cases of identity theft.

Data breaches do not just affect victims financially. In some cases, such as the Watford Community Housing data breach, extremely sensitive data has been revealed that included information about disabilities, sexual orientation, and ethnic origin. In the hands of criminals, this type of data could put individuals at extreme risk of malicious attacks, and it can be incredibly distressing to lose control over this kind of information.

Our top tips to remain safe online

Whilst in most cases data breaches are out of your control, it is important to remain safe online and protect your information where possible.

Here are four of our top tips to stay protected online;

• Purchase items online with a credit card where possible as you can benefit from greater protection in some cases;
• Use strong passwords and, for each site, you should use a different password with a combination of numbers, upper- and lower-case letters, and special characters;
• Use websites with a safe secured connection only;
• Keep your social media accounts private and be careful what you share if it can be viewed by strangers.

Make a claim today

If you have been affected by a data breach, you could be eligible to make a claim today with the Data Leak Lawyers. If your personal data has been left vulnerable online, you have the right to justice.

Speak to our experienced lawyers today by filling in a contact form below or calling us on 0800 634 75 75.

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