ForHousing and Liberty, two organisations within a social housing group based in Salford, have recently been hit by a cyberattack that may have resulted in data exposure. Part of the ForViva group, both ForHousing and Liberty were reportedly hit by a ransomware hack this July, potentially compromising what is said to be a small amount of information.
The ForViva group has sought to minimise the significance of the incident in its public statements, but breaches like these must not be so readily underestimated. When private information is exposed to cybercriminals, there can be serious repercussions for those affected, whose data may be misused for all kinds of manipulative and fraudulent purposes.
Your Lawyers – The Data Leak Lawyers – are leading specialists in privacy and data breach claims, having represented clients in this area of law since 2014. From our extensive experience of supporting clients, we know how worrying it can be to learn that you have become the victim of a cyberattack, which is why we are here to help those affected by incidents like these to claim the compensation they deserve.
ForHousing and Liberty hit by ransomware attackers
Managing social housing in the Northwest of England, ForViva is based in Eccles, running local branches ForHousing and Viva. The company is understood to possess a substantial amount of data relating to its residents and clients.
A risk to this information was identified on 26th July 2021, when ForViva noticed signs that hackers were attempting to breach its systems. In response, For Housing’s systems were brought offline as a precaution, and normal service began to start again the day after. The ForViva group has claimed in a statement that no tenant or staff information belonging to ForHousing was accessed, but it was found that some data from Liberty may have become vulnerable to unauthorised access.
Risks to victims
As ForHousing is a housing association branch of ForViva, while Liberty is a property services provider, the group was able to confirm to tenants that their information was safe. However, a third-party threat analyst alleged that he found that data from ForViva had been found on the dark web on 1st August. This is a typical strategy of ransomware hackers, who often seek to post stolen information on leak sites in the hope that affected companies or data breach victims will pay a ransom to have the information taken down and deleted.
There is no suggestion that this action has been taken by ForHousing and Liberty, but the alleged publication nevertheless raises concerns about the potential security risks for any victims, who may have their information misused for the purposes of scams and fraud. However, given the fact that the types of data exposed have not been identified, we can currently only speculate on the potential impact. Hopefully, the breach has been securely contained.
Data breach compensation claims
The ForHousing and Liberty cyberattack demonstrates what the impact can be when ransomware attackers decide to target a company’s systems. The scale and impact of the breach has yet to be fully revealed, making it hard to come to any conclusions. However, in incidents like this, it can often be possible for victims to claim compensation for the harm caused.
As specialists in data breach claims, we can offer free, bespoke advice on your potential data breach compensation claim. If you are concerned that your data has been impacted in a hack, you can contact our team today for more information on your eligibility to claim.