Welcome To The Data Leak Lawyers Blog
We focus on the latest news surrounding data breaches, leaks and hacks plus daily internet security articles.
We focus on the latest news surrounding data breaches, leaks and hacks plus daily internet security articles.
Public sector hacks remain one of the more worrying aspects of worldwide data protection issues, and we can tell you from experience that these woes apply here in the UK.
We say this a lot, but the simple fact of the matter is that it’s a worrying truth. One of the most common types of compensation claims we deal with here at the Data Leak Lawyers involve public sector organisations. The most common are medical data breach claims and council data protection cases.
Yet again, we’re hearing the experts voice their concerns when it comes to public sector data protection problems, and it’s important for people to know what to do when their information it misused or exposed.
We represent people for police-related data incidents, and with this in mind, here’s a number of reasons as to why the recent Eurofins data breach is a worrying one.
In case you’ve not heard of this one, this relates to an organisation that the police outsource forensic work to. Eurofins reportedly process more than 70,000 cases per year, and deal with DNA analysis, toxicology, ballistics and computer forensics. As such, they can be at the heart of investigations into serious crimes, including murder, sexual offences and terrorism.
Worryingly, they were recently hit by a ransomware attack. This has led to a number of concerns about the security and quality of the work they carry out, and has caused significant disruption to police investigations.
The recent record-setting British Airways and Marriott fines that are to be enforced by regulators show the importance of cybersecurity to prevent breaches, and justice for the victims when an incident occurs.
What we saw was two major organisations whose systems were breached when we should be able to expect big corporations to protect our data. We should be able to safely assume that these large, wealthy organisations can – and will – invest in solid cybersecurity. But both have undoubtedly fallen short, and the result is huge fines and claims for compensation for the victims.
The levels of the provisional fines to be enforced shows how seriously the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is taking breaches of GDPR. The compensation actions that we represent people for are the way forward when it comes to justice for victims, which is not accounted for as part of regulatory fines.
You can qualify to make a claim for data breach compensation for credit score errors, and we may be able to represent you on a No Win, No Fee basis.
Any error on your credit file could lead to your credit score being adversely affected. It can also lead to you being refused finance, with one of the most problematic examples being a mortgage. Many lenders – especially those who offer good rates – do so on the basis of a clean credit history, so when an error appears, serious problems can occur.
If your credit file has an error on it, this can be classed as the misuse of your personal information. As such, it can amount to a data breach and you can qualify for a compensation claim with us.
In an age where many local authorities risk data breaches because of a lack of preventative measures, what can victims whose information is misused do about it?
We can’t force local authorities and the agents who work on their behalf to improve their behaviour and help to stop breaches, leaks and hacks. We can’t force them to invest in better technology and qualified staff to ensure their systems are safe and secure.
What we can do is ensure that victims can make a claim for council data breach compensation which acts as a punishment and a deterrent. It also ensures that victims can obtain justice as well, which is something that a GDPR fine doesn’t encompass.
Information sharing without consent or proper and informed consent can amount to a breach of important data protection laws like GDPR, and it may allow a victim to make a claim for compensation.
Information is being shared all the time, and some organisations are still hiding behind their privacy policies and terms and conditions which don’t always make matters too clear. One of the biggest problems is information being shared for marketing purposes, and people then being hounded by aggressive sales tactics. When it comes to confidential and sensitive data like medical information, we don’t want it shared for obvious reasons.
If your information has been shared without your consent, what can you do about it?
The act of unlawfully accessing personal data can land the offender in a lot of trouble, and it can pave the way for the victims to make a claim for data breach compensation.
Your rights are enshrined in law, and if your rights to information privacy are ever breached, you can be entitled to take legal action. In today’s digital age where information access and sharing are achievable at the click of a button, there’s a wealth of data for millions of people that can be accessed by many individuals.
But people can only access and process information where they’re authorised to do so and have a legitimate reason to do so. Any access of personal data that isn’t done so in accordance with important data legislation can be unlawful. We can represent victims who wish to take a case forward on a No Win, No Fee basis.
For the victim, stolen medical data can lead to a significant amount of distress, and there can be a huge number of risks if your private and sensitive information has been exposed.
We know that criminals and fraudsters target medical data because it can be valuable to them for a number of reasons. It can be used for ransom and identity theft, or even for criminals to produce forged documents like receipts and prescriptions. The so-called ‘dark web’ is reportedly rife with medical data that’s up for sale.
As a victim, what can you do if your medical data is stolen? Can you be eligible to make a claim for medical data breach compensation?
You can be eligible to claim fraud compensation where the crime has arisen from a data breach, data leak or a hack.
It only takes a little bit of personal information for criminals to commit fraud or identity theft. Where payment card data has been exposed, the risks can be even higher, and victims can be at an imminent threat of losing money.
Ultimately, if the fraud has arisen because your personal information has been exposed or misused by an organisation, you may be able to bring a claim for compensation against them.
If you’ve suffered as a victim of a university data breach, you may be entitled to make a claim for compensation with our expert team of lawyers.
We can represent victims of single incident data breaches and groups who have been affected by an incident. One of the over 25 different data breach group / multi-party actions we’re fighting for justice in is the University of Greenwich data breach incident.
We can also offer No Win, No Fee representation for people who claim with us. With universities often holding a lot of personal and sensitive data about people, it’s important to know your rights when your information has been misused or exposed.
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