Billions of leaked records – data exposure in 2021

According to a recent report, over five billion personal records have already been exposed in 2021. A number of significant data leak incidents have contributed to the billions of leaked records, showing how cybercriminals are often able to steal information in large quantities.

In many cases, the theft of records can be facilitated by the negligence or errors of data controllers. Despite being required by law to impose strong cybersecurity defences, vulnerabilities are often neglected and left open for cybercriminals to take advantage of.

Your Lawyers, as leading specialists in data protection law, have seen data controllers fail to meet their responsibilities on many occasions, and the consequences can be devastating for those affected. It is not always possible to undo the impact when control of your personal information is lost, but making a data protection breach compensation claim can allow you to hold a third-party organisation accountable for any failure to protect your personal data. In a time in which so many records are being leaked, our work has never been more important.

Billions of leaked records – the effect of COMB

It is hard to grasp that 2021 has already resulted in billions of leaked records, but the majority of this figure is reportedly accounted for in the COMB incident. COMB, which stands for Compilation of Many Breaches, first came to light in February, when it was revealed that approximately 3.2 billion records had been published on a hacking forum.

As the name suggests, the COMB incident involved an aggregation of data from a number of past leaks, with LinkedIn and Netflix thought to be among the affected companies. The billions of leaked records consisted of pairs of both passwords and email addresses.

In addition to the COMB incident, a recent major leak from Facebook reportedly exposed data belonging to around 20% of its users, amounting to around 533 million people. There have since been reports of potential legal action against the company.

The importance of data breach claims

With such huge leaks involving major companies, it seems clear that the strength of cybercriminals is growing. However, a data leak doesn’t have to consist of billions of leaked records for it to cause real harm to those affected. Even in small quantities, leaked information can be sold for profit on the dark web, misused to carry out scams and fraud, or even held for ransom.

The combined threat of poor data protection and powerful hackers demonstrates why our work is so important. A data breach claim cannot reverse a data leak, but it can ensure that the data controller responsible suffers repercussions for their actions. By recovering compensation for the emotional and/or financial impact of a data leak, you are helping to hold data controllers to account.

Claim with specialist Data Leak Lawyers

Anyone who has been affected by a data breach can come to us today for free, no-obligation advice on making a potential claim. Your Lawyers – the Data Leak Lawyers – has been representing clients for privacy matters since 2014, and has since been involved in some of the most high-profile data breach group actions ever seen in England and Wales, including those against British Airways and Virgin Media. We have the insight and expertise needed to win you the compensation you deserve.

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