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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.
GDPR fines and compensation claims for victims are two separate things with separate avenues for recovering money in either case.
Although the GDPR means that fines can now hit the millions, none of that money is designed to be for the victims. Money recovered from financial penalties will normally end up in the treasury with other general government funds like taxes and fines. It can then be used for government spending.
When it comes to justice for victims, you can speak to us about a separate legal action where you can bring a claim for data breach compensation.
Here’s a question that we can answer – can the ICO investigate the police? If they can, how do people get the justice that they deserve as a victim of a data breach?
The reason we’re approaching this is because a lot of people are unsure when it comes to what rights they have for complaints and issues with the police. Some people feel that there’s no one to turn to when a wrong has been committed by the very service that’s there to enforce the law.
But the police are not above the law. Although many of us can be thankful for their hard work and for putting their own lives on the line for our safety, they must still comply with the law. This includes the Data Protection Act, and the ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office) can get involved.
The Dixons Carphone data breach fine has been formally issued by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for the maximum amount possible under the previous rules.
The cyberattack took place between July 2017 and April 2018, meaning the Data Protection Act 1998 applies as opposed to the GDPR that came into force just a month later. As such, the maximum fine that the retailer could face was £500,000.00, which is what the ICO has issued. Had the attack have continued into the GDPR era, they could have faced fines in the hundreds of millions of pounds mark.
We’ve been representing victims of this data breach for some time now as expert data protection compensation lawyers with a wealth of experience in large consumer actions. As we know a great deal about this breach as it’s one of our live actions, we’re not surprised by the findings and the maximum fine being issued.
It’s official: the first GDPR fine in the UK has been issued to Doorstep Dispensaree for data protection breaches that spanned across a two-year period.
This one involves medical data, which is some of the most personal and sensitive forms of data that there is. Medical data breach compensation claims account for a large proportion of the legal cases that we take forward because of how common they can be, and because of the impact on victims. The impact is often severe because this is the kind of information that we do not want to be misused or exposed.
The breach period, in this case, is between June 2016 and June 2018, which means that it just falls within the GDPR start period from May 2018. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) was reportedly alerted to the breach by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) who were conducting unrelated enquiries.
News of the New Year’s Honours List data leak incident rounded off what has been yet another year of leaks, breaches and hacks.
You can take it from us – as data breach experts – that news of this breach was nothing to be surprised about. We’re often asked for our expert insight by the media as we discuss what feels like a never-ending carousel of incident after incident, and this latest leak was yet another in what has been a big year for data breaches on the whole.
Our client numbers continue to grow given how often these kinds of incidents are taking place. When personal and sensitive information is misused or exposed, it’s important that victims know their rights.
We’ve discussed the issue of the police misusing IT systems before, and it’s a topic that needs to be addressed a lot given the nature of the data that they’re charged with.
Officers and employees have access to huge amounts of data, some of which is very personal and very sensitive. When exposed, victims can be understandably distressed, and that’s where we can assist.
Victims of a data breach can be entitled to make a claim for compensation that stems from the loss of control of private and sensitive information. We may be able to represent you, and since no one is above the law, you shouldn’t worry about going up against the police.
If you have been the victim of a social care records data breach, you may be entitled to make a claim for compensation with us on a No Win, No Fee basis.
One of the most common types of individual legal cases that we represent people for involve councils, and a large volume of them relate to social care information. Social care data can be incredibly personal and sensitive which is why we find that data breach compensation pay-outs for these kinds of incidents can be quite high.
Victims should always know their rights. An apology isn’t always enough, especially when the data that has been exposed or misused is sensitive, which can often be the case when it comes to social care data.
In the same way that fines can be far higher, will we also see higher GDPR compensation amounts since the new law came into effect in May 2018?
Although data breach compensation amounts are still based on the individual impact to the victim, and this hasn’t changed since GDPR, the new laws can make brining a claim an easier thing to do. The law is more stringent than the previous Data Protection Act, so there can be more avenues for people to be able to claim. And the recent court case victory has also paved the way for people to be able to launch a claim even if they haven’t suffered any distress or loss at all.
The difference in fines is, of course, monumental. We have already seen the power that regulators now have to ensure data breach offenders are properly punished.
If you’ve been the victim of someone unlawfully accessing medical records, you could be entitled to make a medical data breach compensation claim.
With the Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh (WWL) NHS Foundation Trust medical records access scandal fresh in our minds, we want to make sure that victims know that they have a voice. We’ve taken forward a number of cases for victims of the WWL incident so far, but anyone who has suffered this kind of breach can be entitled to claim.
Whether you’re one of the 2,172 Greater Manchester patients affected by the above scandal, or someone who has discovered unlawful access to your information, we may be able to help you.
Human error data breaches remain one of the number one causes when it comes to data protection incidents, and it’s important for victims of these kinds of breaches to know their rights.
The important thing to know is that it doesn’t stop you being able to claim if the cause of a breach stems from an error by a human. The organisation that employs the person can be held liable for a legal case, and in this article, we’ll explain why.
It’s not an acceptable excuse for an organisation to simply try and defend a claim on the basis that the fault lies with a human.
EasyJet admits data of nine million hacked
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