Welcome To The Data Leak Lawyers Blog

City council data breach compensation advice

If you have been affected by a city council data breach and you’re in need of data breach compensation advice and representation, we can help.

With the public sector often at the top of the tables in terms of the volume of data breaches, the impact for victims who suffer as a result of an incident like a city council data breach cannot be ignored. These organisations hold a great deal of personal and sensitive data about us, and it’s not only enough information to cause distress and alarm, but it can also lead to financial crimes like fraud and identity theft.

We take on a great deal of cases for public sector data breaches because of the severity of the impact they can have as well as the frequency of them occurring.

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Council tax data breach advice

A council tax data breach can have devastating consequences for the victims involved, especially given that councils hold a lot of personal and sensitive data about us.

Incidents of a council tax data breach are not unheard of and a wealth of information – from people’s personal details to salary information – can be exposed. Council data breaches alone can be quite common given they fall within the umbrella of the public sector, where data breaches can be common.

Although it’s never nice to be the victim of a data breach, victims of a council tax data breach are entitled to claim for data breach compensation.

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Third-party outsourcing can lead to a council data protection breach

Third-party outsourcing can lead to a council data protection breach, and as the old saying goes, “you’re only as strong as your weakest link” – which means councils and local authorities are only as good as the private organisations they outsource work to.

This is important, because public sector data breaches are an ongoing problem, and councils can be a prime target for cyber-criminals as well as being vulnerable to leaks and breaches from inadequate procedures and policies.

With councils outsourcing work for the private sector a lot, there is understandable cause for concern.

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St Helens council data breach

There are allegations of a St Helens council data breach involving recently resigned council leader, Barrie Grunewald.

Any council data protection breach can be serious and can pave the way for legal cases for victims of such a breach; especially when it comes to the nature of the data councils hold. This incident, however, is a little unclear in terms of exactly what has happened.

Police are said to be investigating the alleged data breach which is thought to involve images from a group WhatsApp conversation between St Helens politicians which were allegedly obtained from a mobile phone and subsequently distributed. Mr Grunewald has said that the allegations are “spurious”, and police investigations remain ongoing.

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Councils data breaches and GDPR

Council data breaches and the GDPR that’s coming into force this month is a key topic for discussion. With councils and other public sector authorities often experiencing high levels of data breaches and data leaks, it’s imperative that enough attention is paid to the new regulations that could see organisations fined a heck of a lot more money for breaching data laws.

We take on and represent a lot of people for council data breaches, so we know how often they happen, and we know how bad they can be for the victims. Given the nature of the data that councils hold, any breach or leak can often be very serious for the victims who are entitled to claim for data protection breach compensation.
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Kensington and Chelsea council fined £120,000 for indeliberate data breach

The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea council has been fined £120,000 for an indeliberate data breach because the personal details of empty property owners in their constituency was published, contrary to data protection laws.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has called it a “serious contravention” which has led to the huge fine being issued of £120,000.

According to the ICO reports, a Freedom of Information (FOI) request had been made in relation to the Grenfell Tower incident as part of research into social inequality, and it was this request that led to the accidental disclosure.
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Council data protection breaches: a common problem

Council data protection breaches are a common problem, so if you have been the victim of a breach or leak caused by your local council, you’re one of many.

You have rights to be able to claim for data breach compensation, whether the council has directly breached data laws, or where a local authority outsourced company has breached the law instead.

We advise and represent a lot of people for council data leaks and data breaches because the root problems as to why they are so common have yet to be resolved.
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Councils and local authority agencies collect plenty of data; but are they looking after it?

There is a suggestion that councils and local authority agencies are concentrating too heavily on data collection as opposed to data security. We know councils need a lot of private and sensitive information for a number of legitimate reasons, so why aren’t they protecting it properly?

Recent studies have exposed startling statistics: from one in four councils suffering security breaches in the last five years, to more than 75% of councils failing to provide mandatory data protection training.

Councils are collecting the data, so why aren’t they securing it?
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Wigan Council at centre of alarming number of data protection breaches

According to data gleaned from a Freedom of Information request, as reported by Wigan Today, there have been a concerning number of data breaches involving Wigan Council where information of a confidential, sensitive, or protected nature has been accessed or disclosed “in an unauthorised fashion”.

Councils and private companies who local authority agencies outsource work to are high on the list when it comes to data protection breaches, and we advise and represent a large number of people claiming for data protection compensation as a result of a council data breach.

Unfortunately, this news does not come as a surprise to us.
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Is council data protection and cybersecurity quality a postcode lottery?

Experts have looked in to the differences between councils and local authority services and compared the quality of the cybersecurity and their data protection procedures and protocols. One worrying trend is the fact that there are some huge differences between different councils when it comes to practically all aspects of data security.

This issue means that, in reality, the quality of data protection and cybersecurity can be somewhat of a postcode lottery. There is no single or uniform approach, which is a really worrying aspect.
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