Around two years ago, the Police Federation of England and Wales was hit by a cyberattack, and we began taking claims forward soon after the data breach incident occurred. Although it was initially believed that no personal information affected, it was nevertheless a possibility that employee data may have been exposed to unauthorised access.
The case against the Police Federation is one of many data breach group actions we are pursuing. As leading specialists in data breach claims, we are fighting for justice in a number of high-profile actions, including those against Equifax, Virgin Media and British Airways.
As with all our data breach group actions, we are offering No Win, No Fee representation to eligible victims of the Police Federation data breach. You can contact us today if you are considering starting a claim.
Cyberattacks on the Police Federation of England and Wales
In March 2019, the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) confirmed that it had fallen prey to two cyberattacks within the same month, with the first taking place on 9th March, and the second taking place on 21st March. Both were described as malware attacks and were not understood to have specifically targeted PFEW. It is believed that they were caught up as part of a wider, more general attack, which happened to also impact PFEW’s headquarters in Surrey.
The Police Federation of England and Wales claimed that the attack had not spread to any of its 43 branches. The exact scale of the breach was unclear as a number of different systems were affected, with some being disabled or becoming inaccessible.
Can I claim compensation?
Although not all of the details of the breach were clear, we nevertheless believed that the attacks warranted thorough investigation given their scale and the potential damage. For the officers who are members of the Police Federation of England and Wales, assurances of minimal risk may count for very little.
In fact, given that the systems were compromised to this extent, we believe that the police officers’ concerns are warranted. Although they may not have fallen victim to data misuse or fraud immediately, the distress and anxiety provoked by an incident like this can cause significant damage on their own.
If it emerges that the Police Federation of England and Wales could have done more to prevent the incident, they may be liable to pay compensation which could be significant depending on the impact to the victims.
Make your claim
If you were notified of your involvement in the cyberattacks at PFEW, you may be able to make a claim for compensation on the basis of data protection negligence. When claiming data breach compensation, UK victims can be eligible to recover damages for the distress caused by a data breach, as well as any financial losses or expenses.
We have been handling sensitive privacy matters since 2014, and our experience in this niche area of law has led us to leading roles in a number of significant group actions. If you are considering making a No Win, No Fee compensation claim, contact our expert team for free, no-obligation advice on your potential case.