The risks of dumped stolen data that is left online can be significant, and can result in people falling victim to fraud and theft.
Anyone who has suffered distress or loss as a result of information being misused or exposed could be entitled to pursue a GDPR privacy claim for compensation. Your Lawyers, as Leading Data Leak Lawyers, are fighting for justice for thousands of people on a No Win, No Fee basis just like you, and we may be able to represent you for a case now.
You can speak to our team for free, no-obligation legal advice here now.
Risks of dumped stolen data
The risks of dumped stolen data that has been exposed from a successful cyberattack can be significant. Sometimes, what might happen is hackers gain unauthorised access to information and may hold the company/people to ransom. If the ransom is not paid, they may then try to sell the data on or they may just dump it online to make good on their threat. Sometimes, they may steal it and try to sell it anyway but, when the data does not get sold, information may then be dumped online.
In a recent example, it was reported that stolen data from MGM had been dumped online, with cybersecurity researchers finding the exposed information.
Dumped stolen data that is left online could be used by other criminals to try to exploit people for fraud and theft. It can also be used by criminals to attempt phishing attacks, or to contact people and try to pass themselves off as legitimate representatives of a company.
Ultimately, a little information can go a long way. The risks of dumped stolen data for those whose information is contained in it are obvious to see.
Pursuing privacy compensation for a data breach
If your information has been misused and/or exposed as a result of a data breach, the GDPR can entitle you to claim compensation for any distress caused by the loss of control of your personal information.
If you are targeted by hackers and criminals for fraud and theft, this can increase the distress that you suffer, which can be factored into a claim for compensation. Even if an attack is not successful, and you have not lost any money, you could still claim for the distress alone, which is what most people pursue damages for. If you lost money or had to pay out any expenses, these can be considered as part of a case as well.
The best thing to do to find out if you are eligible to make a No Win, No Fee data breach compensation claim is to contact our team here for free, no-obligation legal advice here now.
Longevity can increase risks: Virgin Media Compensation Action
The longevity of dumped stolen data left online can increase the risks, as many more people may use the exposed information to try to target people. Although not a case of a data dump, our Virgin Media Compensation action involved the inadvertent exposure of information when a database was left accessible online for a period of 10 months. One of the big risks is the fact that it was left online for a period of almost ten months, which resulted in at least one unknown third party accessing the information.
Ultimately, the longer information is left exposed for, the more people may view it, and the more people may try to misuse it.