What to do after a cyberattack – compensation claims advice

When a cyberattack occurs, the response effort is extremely important in determining how far the collateral damage may extend. Data controllers who have succumbed to hacks have an important responsibility to face up to any mistakes made and repair vulnerabilities as soon as possible. Unfortunately, the attacked companies themselves cannot always be relied upon to respond quickly and effectively, which is why victims need to know what to do after a cyberattack. And this is where we can come in as data claims lawyers.

From ransomware to phishing scams, cyberattacks can come in many different forms, and data controllers are obliged by law to manage these threats with appropriate cybersecurity defences and response plans. Non-compliance with the law could be costly for victims, causing their information to fall into the hands of malicious cybercriminals.

At Your Lawyers – The Data Leak Lawyers – as leading privacy claims experts, we have honed our expertise in data breach claims over a number of years, making us a leading UK law firm in data protection law. Our specialism allows us to help victims of a wide range of data breach incidents to claim the compensation they deserve.

Bad responses from data controllers

When a cyberattack occurs, it is important for data controllers to act quickly to repair their systems, minimise the damage, and assess the impact. This can enable them to ensure their customers that the issue has been brought under control as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, data breaches do not always unfold in this way, with some companies failing to act as efficiently as required. In some cases, they fail to even to identify the incident, and some breaches have been identified by third parties rather than the data controllers themselves.

For example, in the case of the Ticketmaster data breach, the cyberattack reportedly might have begun in February 2018 when Monzo noticed fraudulent transactions on its customers’ accounts. Several other banks notified Ticketmaster of potential fraud, we understand, but the company reportedly did not begin to assess its payment page until nine weeks after the incident may have started.

What to do after a cyberattack – advice for data breach victims

As a victim, it can be difficult to know what to do after a cyberattack. While each incident is unique, the basic principles can be the same, and they can include:

• securing any affected accounts (e.g. changing passwords);
• alerting your bank and making them aware of any unauthorised transactions;
• seeking legal advice.

A specialist data protection lawyer will be able to advise you on your potential eligibility for a compensation claim, and that is exactly what we can do for you. Depending on how you are impacted, you may be able to recover compensation for any distress and financial losses caused.

Make your data breach claim

We have been representing victims for privacy matters for a number of years, across a range of group actions and individual claims. If you were affected by the Virgin Media breach, the British Airways breach, or the Equifax breach in the UK, check your eligibility to join our group action claims online today.

We can also offer bespoke legal advice to anyone wondering what to do after a cyberattack, so call our team directly for a free, no-obligation discussion.

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