"We cover news and updates from the digital world with information on the latest legislation, high profile cases and changes in the online industry."
We specialise in representing victims for data breach compensation claims.
Information on how we handle your data is available in our Privacy Policy.
Reports have recently emerged detailing the events of the Fat Face data breach, following the company’s decision to send out an email to affected customers. Victims were reportedly told to keep the information about the incident private.
The data breach itself is understood to have occurred in January, but it was not until the end of March that customers learned of the exposure of their information. Investigations by Fat Face has established that some systems were reportedly subjected to unauthorised access, affecting both customer and employee data. It has also been alleged that Fat Face paid a ransom to a cybercrime gang, though neither the company nor the ICO, the data protection regulator, appear to have confirmed this claim.
Those who have had their private information exposed in the Fat Face data breach may be able to recover compensation for the harm caused. Everyone has a right to adequate data protection. If companies fail in this duty, they can be liable to issue pay-outs to those affected.
The recent Birmingham City Council data breach has caused the exposure of private residents’ information, allegedly including details relating to vulnerable children (although this has reportedly been disputed).
As is the case in many council data breaches, the incident appears to have occurred as a result of human error, when staff mistakenly uploaded private information to a public access website. According to the council, the data was swiftly taken down, but the time for which it was uploaded may have been long enough to make the information accessible to unauthorised third parties.
In cases such as this, it may appear that little harm has been done, but all data breach incidents can be capable of causing significant distress for the victims. We trust local authorities like Birmingham City Council to safeguard our data. When they fail in this duty, they can be liable to compensate the victims for the harm caused.
As a firm of data breach claims solicitors, we are steadfast in our determination to help data breach victims to achieve justice for the untold distress and loss they have suffered. The Data Breach Lawyers is often at the forefront of new, evolving areas of data protection law, aiming to make sure no one who has their legal rights breached is left behind.
Developing our expertise over a number of years, our knowledge of this niche area of law is what allows us to be such staunch defenders of our clients’ legal rights. Unfortunately, many businesses and organisations continue to fail to protect personal data, but we know how to apply our skills and experience to make sure that they are held to account.
From the 56 Dean Street Clinic breach, to the huge group action against British Airways, our data breach experience spans several years. Read on to find out more about our ground-breaking work in this area of law.
SITA, an IT systems provider for much of the aviation industry, recently encountered a cyberattack described as “highly sophisticated”, which provoked a leak of passenger data from its servers at the end of February. The SITA data breach was monumental in scale, affecting hundreds of thousands of customers across several notable airlines.
Affected airlines included those under the Star Alliance group, such as Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines. It also included British Airways, which is currently the subject of our group action following two seismic data breaches in 2018.
The travel industry has long been targeted by cybercriminals. Examples include the Marriott data breach and the easyJet data breach, so it is unsurprising that hackers have sought to steal further information by attacking a company that serves so much of the global aviation industry. The breach is not believed to have exposed any highly sensitive data, but it must act as a wake-up call to airlines and other travel companies. The sector must now look to protect data from an incoming wave of sophisticated cyberattacks.
Our information is being increasingly shared for commercial purposes to businesses who use it to provide us with goods and services. However, local government bodies also process and store huge amounts of our personal data. Their need to monitor and manage the local community means that councils often require access to highly sensitive information. In the event of a local authority data leak, the consequences can be severe.
The important duties that they owe to residents do not appear to prevent local authorities from breaching data protection regulations. It is not acceptable that branches of government should neglect the law of the central government they are linked to, particularly in cases where their residents are exposed to significant data security risks.
We have represented clients in many local authority data leaks compensation claims. Anyone affected by a data breach such as this can contact us for free, no-obligation advice about No Win, No Fee representation.
As criminals become increasingly adept at accessing and using private data for their own gain, data breaches are becoming increasingly risky for the victims. If criminals abuse your exposed data to commit fraud, you might be able to claim compensation for identity theft.
Identity theft is one of the most significant risks of data breaches, as criminals can use even the smallest amounts of personal data to form a picture of a person’s identity. Whether they experience the effects of identity theft or not, the exposure to such risks can be extremely distressing for data breach victims.
As a leading firm of data breach lawyers, we aim to support any victims who have been made vulnerable to this devastating crime, many of whom may be eligible to claim compensation.
In March 2020, Virgin Media announced a shocking revelation about (mainly) customer data being exposed, and the Virgin Media data group action was launched as a result.
The telecoms giant admitted that the personal information of 900,000 customers had been exposed in a large-scale incident. The leak resulted in swathes of people’s information being potentially vulnerable to significant data security risks. As a result, we were compelled into action, and the legal case for justice is in full swing.
We are taking on more and more claims all the time in our fight for justice, and we wish to alert any affected victims that you can still be entitled to join if Virgin Media has notified you of your involvement in the data breach. Please be aware that there will likely be a court-imposed cut-off data for joining the action, so we recommend that you sign up to launch your claim as soon as possible.
As the start of 2021 marks almost three years since the first breach began, a British Airways data breach settlement is soon expected, as the airline’s lawyers revealed intentions to potentially settle claims out of court.
Under increasing pressure from Your Lawyers, a leading consumer action and data breach firm, this is a big development in a serious breach that affected approximately 400,000 customers in 2018. Your Lawyers, who sit on the Steering Committee responsible for the conduct of the group action, were quick to break the news of this major development, which has featured across prominent media outlets.
The deadline to join the action is not far away. With our current estimations suggesting up to a possible £2.4 million pay-out if all the victims claim, we do not want any affected customers to miss out on their share of compensation. Please start your claim as soon as possible.
At the end of December 2020, it was revealed that the Transform Hospital Group had been targeted by a devastating cyberattack.
The attack, which took the form of a ransomware hack, resulted in the theft of customer data from the plastic surgery chain, and the hackers behind the attack have since been threatening to publish the information online.
The hackers are understood to have made it known that they have 900 gigabytes of ‘before and after’ pictures in their possession, which they are threatening to publish if a ransom is not paid. Understandably, many of the victims are extremely concerned that their private data can now be exposed in this way. The Data Breach Lawyers have already taken on affected clients, and we encourage further victims to come forward for advice on their potential claim.
Thousands could be affected by the recently revealed Sandicliffe data breach which reportedly occurred in February 2020.
As we understand it, the breach stemmed from an employee falling for a phishing scam which then gave hackers access to two email accounts. The accounts are said to have contained some personal data, but the company says that there is currently no evidence that that information exposed has been used maliciously.
It is potentially the case that there may be thousands at risk from this data breach, with the Sandicliffe car dealership company reportedly owning a total of 10 showrooms. Both customers, current employees and previous employees may have had information exposed in the breach meaning that their highly sensitive information could still be misused by criminals.
Websites, systems and services have been offline for over a week after the Flagship Group cyberattack hit the housing company.
An official statement from Flagship Group’s website informs us that, on the 1st November 2020, a major cyberattack occurred that has resulted in most of their systems being taken offline. In quick response to the attack, Flagship Homes took many of their systems and services down to prevent the spread of the event.
It is currently unknown exactly how many people have been affected by the Flagship Group cyberattack. However, it has been confirmed that some personal data has been compromised in the breach. Flagship Group has warned customers to be wary of potential cold calls and phishing emails that could result in fraudulent activity.
Following the British Airways data breach in 2018, where almost 500,000 customers were affected, the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) has issued its final fine. The BA data breach fine was announced to be just £20 million – a significant 90% less than the initial proposed intention to fine last year of £183m.
Though £20 million is no small amount, for the international airline, the question is whether this data breach fine is enough to have a proper impact. In terms of how the ICO decides how much it should fine data breach offenders, it should be enough to have a ‘dissuasive effect’ on the company and others in order to warn them from committing further data breaches.
In the case of the BA data breach fine, it is not seen as a high enough amount to have a dissuasive effect when you consider how much of the original proposed amount has been wiped out.
Speak to our team now for help and advice.
Fill out our quick claim form below and we’ll contact
you when you’re ready to talk to us.
All fields marked * are required.
