Flintshire Council data breach: another avoidable leak

In our view, the Flintshire Council data breach that led to the personal details of people being accidentally leaked online was another avoidable incident.

Despite the GDPR and the lessons that could – and should – have been learned from similar incidents in the past that have affected public and private organisations alike, these simple and avoidable leaks continue to take place.

As a leading firm of data breach lawyers, we are used to taking council data breach compensation claims forward because of how often these kinds of incidents take place. At a time when we should be seeing fewer of these kinds of leaks, we continue to take on significant numbers of new legal cases.

About the Flintshire Council data breach

It’s understood that the Flintshire Council data breach involved the names and addresses of people who had responded to a Local Development Plan (LDP) being accessible online. A document that contained the personal information was reportedly uploaded, and the names and addresses could be uncovered. The document was online for several hours before the leak was discovered, and steps have now been taken to properly protect the information.

It has been described as a “major data breach” with a statement issued by the council confirming what had happened. It has been acknowledged that the software originally used to protect the data was “not adequate”, and it is understood that some people had visited the website and accessed the document during the breach period.

It has been confirmed that those affected by the Flintshire Council data breach will be contacted. The local authority is also considering whether it needs to refer itself to the UK’s data watchdog, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

Another avoidable incident

In simple terms, the Flintshire Council data breach was another easily avoidable leak of personal information. We often see these types of events leading to the loss of control of personal information and, depending on the context, a leak like this can be devastating for the victims. We all have a right to privacy, so when our rights are infringed, it is only right that questions are asked and steps are taken to prevent a similar incident taking place.

But too many of these simple and avoidable leaks have already taken place across a number of public sector organisations. The GDPR is clear when it comes to the duty that we all have to protect personal information, and we should not be seeing so many of these avoidable leaks happening all the time.

Unfortunately, despite the power of the new legislation and the lessons that should have been learned from so many leaks in the past, these types of events continue to take place.

Council data breach compensation claims

Depending on what has happened and what information is involved, we can represent victims of a council data breach for claim for compensation.

We can also offer No Win, No Fee representation if we consider that there is a case to answer.

For free, no-obligation advice from the team, please don’t hesitate to get in contact with us today.

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