Welcome To The Data Leak Lawyers Blog
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.
For many businesses, so much of the work is conducted digitally, a fact that has only become truer since Covid-19 provoked a shift to more remote, online working. However, despite devoting significant expenses to IT resources, some businesses still fail to pay attention to data protection procedures and the tools required to operate their devices securely. From the small start-ups to the global conglomerates, all businesses need proper cybersecurity if they are to be trusted with personal data.
In the headlines, we regularly see data breaches that have occurred as a result of minor, needless oversights. With appropriate data protection and cybersecurity measures, many data security incidents can be avoided, so it is important that we hold businesses accountable when they fail to meet the standards required.
If you have been affected by a data breach for which a third-party organisation was responsible, you could be eligible to hold them to account via a data breach compensation claim. We know how damaging the effects of data exposure can be, which is why we aim to help as many victims to claim as possible.
In a data breach earlier this year involving Trafford Council, the personal information of residents had been publicly exposed. Personal details were reportedly taken as part of a resident survey, but the private information was understood to have not been redacted when the council sent a Freedom of Information request response to another resident.
Errors such as this seem to have become a common trait of council data breaches, with employees making needless mistakes that could be corrected with a few checks, and with greater attention to the appropriate procedures. Overall, the trend of human error data breaches at local authorities would suggest that there are inherent problems when it comes to data protection.
A lack of awareness in respect of data protection and cybersecurity is simply unacceptable in this day and age, in which the digitisation of personal information has the potential to make it a more accessible target for cybercriminals. While organisations bear the overall responsibility for compliance with data protection law, individual employees also have a role to play in eliminating data security risks.
Recent statistics revealed that there were over 2,300 police data breaches in 2020, according to figures on the number of incidents reported to the ICO. The high figure raises questions about how effectively the force is managing data protection risks and ensuring the cybersecurity of its systems, and whether similar statistics may emerge for the 2021 period which is shortly due to end.
These statistics are particularly concerning given the often extremely sensitive nature of the information held by the police, which can include personal details of crime witnesses and victims. Everyone who discloses personal information to the police should have the right to do so in the knowledge that it will be kept secure and only viewed for specific investigation or work-related purposes. However, there are many unfortunate cases in which people have been let down by the organisation that is supposed to protect them.
If you have been affected by a police data breach, you may be eligible for a compensation claim. Our expert lawyers can offer free, no-obligation advice on your case.
Usually run by local councils, social services hold large quantities of sensitive information about the people under their care. The private nature of the work they carry out means that they are required to keep to strict standards of confidentiality. If they fail to do so, perhaps if a social worker leaked information or failed to keep data secure, they may be in breach of data protection law.
Whether they are children in foster care, people with disabilities, or elderly residents of council care homes, there are thousands of people in the UK who have some form of care provided by their local authority. The integrity of social workers is generally taken for granted but there can, unfortunately, be individuals who let the good name of their profession down.
Their actions may have been accidental or intentional, but in either case, a social worker should be held accountable if they have compromised your right to privacy. By making a compensation claim, you can ensure that you achieve the justice you deserve.
Workplace data breach compensation claims can be one of the most severe types of privacy legal cases that we take on for victims on a No Win, No Fee basis.
The reason for this is that the nature of the information that can be exposed can be personal and sensitive, and it could be voluminous. This can mean that the impact for the victim can be substantial, which is why these kinds of legal cases can be so serious.
At Your Lawyers – The Data Leak Lawyers – as leading privacy claims experts, we represent a lot of people for workplace data cases. You can speak to the team for free, no-obligation advice here now.
Whether it’s a local agency or a nationwide chain, many property management firms may be perceived as prime targets for data hackers. Any organisation that stores extensive customer information could be seen as an opportunity for cybercriminals, so the possibility of a property management firm data breach is something all companies must aim to prevent.
Unfortunately, despite the growing awareness of data security issues in the media and among the general public, many data controllers fail to observe the data protection regulations set out in the law. Even for businesses that possess large quantities of sensitive customer information, data protection negligence can be a problem.
If you have had your data exposed by a third party due to their failure to protect it, you may be entitled to claim compensation. In accordance with the law, everyone has a right to have the personal data they disclose to third-party companies kept safe, so contact us for advice if you think you may have a claim to make.
With data breaches gaining traction in recent times, many people could be becoming wary of disclosing their data to businesses and organisations, and some may be concerned about what that they can do in the event of a data breach. Your Lawyers, as leading specialists in data breach claims and consumer group actions, are passionate about widening access to justice. This is why want to give you a brief data breach compensation pay-out guide to demonstrate what can be achieved by asserting your legal rights.
In accordance with UK law, all third parties that process, handle or store information relating to their customers, employees or other consumers are obliged to protect it in accordance with the GDPR. This involves ensuring that appropriate data protection procedure is followed by staff, and that there are sufficient cybersecurity defences in place to block potential hackers.
As a result, data controllers can fall foul of the law if they expose or compromise information through their own negligence. If you have been the victim of breach of data protection law, you could be eligible to claim compensation for any harm caused. Read on or contact us to find out more about your potential data breach claim.
The Cabinet Office has been issued with a penalty in the sum of £500,000 for the 2020 New Year Honours data breach, an incident that we have resolved legal action for.
The fine has been issued by the UK’s data watchdog, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), which is intended to act as a punishment for what has happened. Such penalties can also act as a deterrent against future events.
We are pleased to see that regulatory action has now concluded. The fine is a separate matter to private legal action that victims of the data leak can be entitled to pursue. We have already resolved legal action that we have taken, having been instructed to act in the wake of the event, and this fine further cements that victims could be entitled to pursue a claim for compensation.
Educational institutions have been targeted by cyberattacks with increasing frequency in the past few months, so the risk to the private information that is held by schools appears to be pronounced. In this climate of hacks and ransomware, it is important that high schools are doing everything they possibly can to protect the sensitive information of students, staff and parents, or there could be an increasing number of high school data breaches.
All schools hold a wealth of information about their pupils, from home addresses to medical information. It is important that teachers can access these details when necessary for the purposes of safeguarding and student welfare, but this also means that schools have an obligation to manage and process this information securely.
If you or your child has been affected by a high school data breach, you may be eligible to make a data breach claim for any harm caused. Where schools are responsible for the exposure of private information, they must be held accountable. Claiming compensation can be a route to ensuring that justice is achieved.
Remote working has been a key security focus for some companies for a number of years, but the coronavirus pandemic has led to many more businesses adopting homeworking as a long-term practice. For some, remote working has longevity beyond social distancing restrictions. However, it can come with cybersecurity concerns, such that businesses must ensure they are effectively managing the risks of remote workers exposing data.
As well as the external cybersecurity threats to company servers, there is also a risk that undisciplined employees may make mistakes when they are no longer working in a controlled environment. Even the simplest of errors or oversights could allow sensitive information to become vulnerable.
Unfortunately, when the transition was made to remote working, some companies failed to make the cybersecurity adjustments required. Going forward, it is important that every company adapts their data protection strategies to the demands of remote working, or they may risk information exposure.
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Half a million customers can sue BA over huge data breach
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The biggest data breaches of 2020
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