Wokingham Council data leaks in the news

Wokingham Council data leaks have hit the news again after media reports of a number of incidents where information has reportedly been sent to the wrong people.

These kinds of leaks can be awfully common, which is why a large number of the cases we take forward for people are council data breach compensation claims.

With the sheer wealth of information that councils hold, and the personal and sensitive nature of it, any leak, breach or hack can be serious.

78 Wokingham Council data leaks reported

According to Berkshire Live, there have been 78 Wokingham Council data leaks that involve information being sent to the wrong people between 2014 and 2019.

This is understood to include both postal and email correspondences and were simply cases of the incorrect recipients being sent the information.

The council has said that none were serious enough to warrant a report to the ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office), although this doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be concerned. It only takes one simple leak like this to cause a great deal of damage for the victims, who are often the ones overlooked in these stories. We can tell you from considerable experience just how bad the distress can be when it comes to losing control of your personal and sensitive information.

Although not a council data breach, but still a serious public sector incident, the Chairing Cross GIC email leak is the most recent leak of this nature. When you consider information of that nature being leaked and exposed, you can appreciate how serious these incidents can be.

What can victims to about council data leaks?

As lawyers who represent people claiming for council data breach compensation, it’s important for us to let victims know that they have rights.

The 78 Wokingham Council data leaks referenced in this piece were reportedly not serious, but that doesn’t mean that people don’t have a right to make a claim. We must assess cases on their individual merits, but a breach that isn’t reportable to the ICO doesn’t mean that the victim cannot be entitled to compensation.

If a breach of GDPR or the Data Protection Act has taken place, you may be able to claim. We usually consider things like:

• The nature and sensitivity of the information that has been exposed or misused;
• The volume of the said data;
• Who the information has been exposed to, or misused by;
• The personal impact for you, which differs between people.

The last part is important for us to be able to value data breach compensation claim pay-outs. We can use a combination of expert evidence and your own testimony for us to be able to properly assess this.

No Win, No Fee and free advice

As a firm of specialist data leak lawyers, we’re proud to be able to offer No Win, No Fee representation for our clients.

We’re also more than happy to offer our initial advice and assessments on a completely free and no-obligation basis. Don’t hesitate to speak to the team today for a chat about your options.

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