Compensation for cybersecurity incidents

As a victim whose data has been exposed or misused, you can be eligible to make a claim for compensation for cybersecurity incidents.

Whether the incident has taken place at a business who you use the services for, at work, or at your local hospital, you may have a legal case. GDPR and Data Protection Act legislation allows for a victim to be entitled to receive damages for the impact of leaks, breaches and hacks. As expert data lawyers who pioneered some of the earliest cases and actions, we may be able to help you.

Here’s a little advice about when you may be able to claim and what we could do for you.

Claiming compensation for cybersecurity incidents

Victims can be eligible to claim compensation for cybersecurity incidents when their information has been exposed or misused. If the organisation responsible for processing and / or storing your information has failed in their legal responsibility to protect it and use it fairly, you may have a legal basis for a case.

For example, in the case of a data leak, even where it’s accidental, a claim can arise. The employer of an employee who accidentally leaks information can be vicariously liable, which means they may have to meet the claim. This was the case in the infamous 56 Dean Street Clinic leak we’re helping victims claim in.

In a cyberattack, being eligible to claim can depend on if the organisation hit by the attack has failed to adequately secure your data. For example, in the Equifax cyber-attack, they failed to patch a known security vulnerability,  and that’s why we’re running an action for victims of the attack. In the British Airways data breach incidents, their website was exploited with vulnerabilities, and this again means they are culpable. We’re also running legal claims for the BA breach as well.

How do we calculate data claim compensation pay-outs?

There are a few things that we look at when it comes to determining the valuation of a claim for compensation for cybersecurity incidents. Your claim can be based on the loss of control of your information where it has been exposed, or it could be founded on the fact that it has been misused alone.

What we typically look at can include:

• The nature and extent of the data that has been exposed or misused;
• Who information has been exposed to, or misused by;
• The personal impact of the misuse and / or exposure;
• Any financial impact of the misuse and / or exposure.

Data breach compensation pay-outs can then be calculated (when cases are successful) based on these kinds of factors. Generally speaking, the bigger the impact, the more the case can be worth.

Free, no-obligation advice

For free, no-obligation advice about your options for compensation for cybersecurity incidents, please don’t hesitate to contact the team. We offer No Win, No Fee representation for cases we can take forward as well.

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