Sunderland Council data breach incidents in GDPR world

Issues surrounding a number of Sunderland Council data breach incidents have hit the headlines in recent weeks, with some 170 incidents said to have been recorded.

In the GDPR era, councils and local authority agencies must take their data protection responsibilities seriously. They hold a lot of information about a lot of people, and if this is exposed, the impact on the victim can be severe.

A large volume of the individual cases we take forward are for council data breach compensation claims because of how often they can occur, and because of nature of the information that can be exposed or misused.

Recorded Sunderland Council data breach incidents

Between 2018 and 2019, it’s understood that there have been some 170 Sunderland Council data breach incidents recorded that relate to some form of data protection issue.

Seven incidents are understood to have been reported to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), with four of them self-reported and the others reported by the public.

Examples reportedly include a cyber-attack on the council’s library system that affected around 45 people, and a birth certificate being sent to a third-party.

But the council has said that more than half of those incidents recorded were low-level incidents with little to no impact. They say they’ve taken a “draconian” approach to data protection recording, making sure to record even the smallest of incidents.

This could make things look far worse than they actually are.

Should people be worried?

It may well be the case that the Sunderland Council data breach incidents are another symptom of the post-GDPR world.

Many organisations are recording and reporting almost anything in efforts to avoid falling foul of the new rules, and the council’s comments reflect this.

That being said, a large volume of the individual compensation claims we take forward on a No Win, No Fee basis involve councils and local authorities. These types of claims can be scarily common, and the impact for the victims is often severe.

You have to remember that they store and process a wealth of incredibly personal and sensitive information. Any leak or breach of information like medical data and financial data can have a severe impact on the victim, and data breach compensation pay-outs reflect the severity of such incidents.

Have you been affected by a council data breach incident?

Always remember that you can be entitled to make a claim for council data breach compensation in the event of an incident.

Whether it’s a Sunderland Council data breach incident or any other leak, breach or hack involving a local authority, we may be able to assist you.

For free, no-obligation advice, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our expert, friendly team.

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