Data breaches in 2019: has anything changed?

As we have seen in recent years, there have been a large number of data breaches in 2019, and we’re wondering when the trends will change.

In an increasingly digitalised world, there are now more and more doorways open for hackers to break down. There are also more ways that data can be accidentally exposed with the greater use and reliance of technology. This was why the introduction of the GDPR last year was so important, yet despite the new laws, have we seen any positive changes?

We would have expected far greater improvements than what we have seen so far.

The duties are clear

The duties on organisations to protect the information that they’re charged with are clear, and we would therefore have expected to see far fewer data breaches in 2019 than what we have seen.

If we take a look at just one example – the BA Group Action – you can see this issue in practice. The GDPR came into force just months before the big September 2018 attack, so there was ample opportunity to take heed of the GDPR and make the necessary changes to have prevented the cyberattack taking place. Instead, they’ve been provisionally fined a record-setting £183m by the ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office) and are facing compensation pay-outs that could total an estimated £3bn as part of the Group Action we’re involved with.

It’s abundantly clear that avoiding those costs by investing in cybersecurity can easily pay off!

Too little proactivity

When we talk about a new event, we often comment on the fact that organisations will typically say that they will now take steps to prevent a breach occurring again. This has been the case with many of the data breaches in 2019 as well.

So, we ask the question: why didn’t you take those steps in the first place to prevent the breach from ever occurring? If there were things that you could have done prior to the breach, why didn’t you take those steps before?

It’s far too easy to make changes after an attack has already taken place, or after a breach has occurred. It pays to be reactive, and if the GDPR wasn’t enough of a deterrent for organisations to take their responsibilities seriously, the costs of the BA case ought to be. For the victims whose data has been misused or exposed, these changes are usually too little, too late.

Victims can claim compensation

It’s important for victims of the data breaches in 2019 to know that they can be eligible to make a claim for data breach compensation.

We can offer No Win, No Fee representation for victims who launch their legal case with us. Our lawyers are fighting for justice in dozens of different group and multi-party actions, and thousands of victims have asked our team for our specialist help and advice.

We’re always happy to offer our advice on a free, no-obligation basis as well.