Labour Party data breach – ongoing ransomware cyberattack

The Labour Party data breach is currently being investigated, and is understood to involve a ransomware cyberattack with information held by a third party currently inaccessible.

It is understood that the Labour Party’s own systems have not been affected by this, and it is a case of a third party that holds information about members being hit by a cyberattack. It remains unknown as to exactly how many people may have been affected and what information could have been exposed. We have started taking on claims for those who have approached us.

About the Labour Party data breach

It is understood that the Labour Party data breach stems from a cyberattack – specifically believed to be a ransomware attack – involving a third party that handles member information. Systems for Labour itself are said to be unaffected, but the information of party members, which could include detailed member information that has been provided, may be affected.

The matter has been reported to the UK’s data watchdog, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), as well as the National Crime Agency (NCA) and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). Investigations remain ongoing and it is not yet known as to whether any information affected by the cyberattack – an attack that has been classed as “significant” – could be, or is at risk of being, exposed.

Although information may have become inaccessible as part of the ransomware attack, it remains unknown as to whether it has been accessed. It has been assumed that the attack is not specifically directed at the Labour Party but has hit the third party and is financially motivated.

How bad could this data breach be?

Until we know whether any information has been exposed, and what exactly the information is, it is hard to know how major the impact may be. What we can expect is that, if information is exposed, this could end up being a considerable breach of private information.

Labour themselves say that their party is made up of over half a million users, with some recent data suggesting that the figure is in the 400,000 to 500,000 mark. Although we do not currently know who may or may not be affected by the cyberattack and ransomware event, this data suggests that we could be talking about hundreds of thousands of victims.

Significant risks

Those who may be affected by the Labour Party data breach are being warned to be wary of scams, including phone calls, texts and emails. If information is exposed, the risks could be significant as this kind of information that may be affected could be misused.

Your Lawyers, as leading Data Leak Lawyers, know just how bad this kind of event can impact the victims. Representing thousands of victims for data breach claims, having launched over 50 group and multi-party actions, and having recovered over £1m in damages for mainly individual clients, we truly understand what our clients go through. This is borne from our extensive experience, and we know that people can suffer terribly when they lose control of their personal and private information. This can be more so when information is then misused, and people are targeted for things like theft and fraud.

We will be keeping a close eye on developments as this breaking news story develops, and we have started taking on claims for those who have approached us.

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