Internet data hacking and compensation claims

The internet is a fundamental part of our lives. It connects us and provides us with access to the wealth of information this world has to offer.

However, when these figurative cyber portals are open, it’s important to realise it’s a two-way door…

With the rise of the digital age and the use of ever-advancing technology, cybercriminals have a far greater number of targets. Some criminals no longer need to plan a difficult and risky burglary to steal valuables from buildings; hackers can access bank account details for millions of people without leaving their desks!

And the problem is getting worse…

Rise of the hackers

In the past few years, huge hacking scandals have hit the headlines like wildfire with an array of high-profile targets successfully hit.

The likes of Yahoo, Equifax and TalkTalk are the easiest ones that spring to mind.

For the TalkTalk hack alone saw thousands of customers have their personal information accessed, with fears their bank details were also accessed. The broadband and telephone giant were heavily criticised for reportedly not having adequate security measures in place to discover and respond to the hack efficiently. This was further exacerbated when they didn’t seem to learn their lesson and were hacked again. Security experts were apparently baffled that TalkTalk didn’t seem to see the need in encrypting their data, therefore putting millions of customers at risk.

In terms of other notable hacks, Yahoo – as we touched on – were hacked, exposing the personal information of a colossal one billion+ accounts. The most infuriating thing was that Yahoo reportedly failed to encrypt their data properly which left them open to attack.

Mobile phone provider Three reportedly put 6 million customers at risk when the mobile phone giant was hacked. Personal information was illegally accessed, and the public were outraged that such a large company reportedly didn’t have the security measures needed to prevent such a large hack.

A number of dating sites have fallen victim to hacks, as well as hoteliers, healthcare providers, and all sorts of organisations. People and organisations are under constant threat, and it seems like it’s almost every day we see yet another hacking event.

Can victims of a hacking make a claim for compensation?

This really depends on a few things. For companies who have access to, and hold, your personal information, they have a legal duty under the Data Protection Act 1998 to look after it in a safe and secure manner. You may be eligible to claim for compensation if they have failed in their duty to protect our information, so if they’re hacked, it’s often question of what they had in place to protect you and your data.

Take the recent Equifax hack as one example. They failed to patch up a known security vulnerability that led to hackers easily breaking in to their systems. We’re representing a number of U.K. victims of the Equifax data hack given we think the negligence is quite clear in this case. Equifax failed to patch the vulnerability which left them open to attack, and a successful attack occurred.

If a hacking occurs and we think there’s a claim to answer for, we’ll normally be able to offer No Win, No Fee services for the case.

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