The impact of a health data breach

Whether it brings a healthcare organisation to a standstill, or causes the exposure of swathes of patient medical records, a health data breach can have serious repercussions.

In fact, the impact of a cyberattack can be worsened if the healthcare organisation in question does not have the appropriate security defences in place.

Every business or organisation is legally required to protect the personal data under their supervision, so data controllers can be held responsible if they breach this duty. We aim to help anyone who has fallen victim to a data breach to claim the compensation they deserve. This is not only to see justice done, but to also to make sure that organisations are dissuaded from acting carelessly again.

Health data breach examples

Over the past year, health organisations have been met with the pressure of controlling the coronavirus pandemic, which has also come with the increased threat of cyberattacks. Cybercriminals have been able to take advantage of the depletion of staff time and resources, a development that was predicted by cybersecurity experts in the early days of the pandemic. In May, the National Cyber Security Centre warned of an influx of password spraying attacks, in which hackers tried to access accounts using common passwords.

As the cybercrime threat rises, we are also seeing the same human errors made time and time again. For instance, an incident at NHS Orkney in June saw the coronavirus test results of approximately 50 people sent out to the wrong recipients. Separately, a mistake at Public Health Wales caused the accidental publication of around 18,000 test results.

These errors are not uncommon causes of a health data breach. We are currently representing victims of big cases like the 56 Dean Street Clinic leak and the Blackpool NHS data breach, to name a couple of examples.

The information exposed in a health data breach

The information exposed in a health data breach can be varied and extensive, given that medical records include health and treatment information. The data can stretch back for years, and employees of health organisations often disclose extremely sensitive data about race, ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation. All this data comes on top of the typical contact details which, if they reach the hands of cybercriminals, can be used to target victims with scams and attempts at fraud.

As a result, a health data breach can affect victims emotionally and financially. Fortunately, the law accounts for this dual impact, and can allow victims to claim for distress and for financial losses or expenses.

Data breach compensation claim amounts can, therefore, help to achieve justice for the harm unfairly inflicted on victims.

Make your compensation claim

As mentioned above, we have supported victims of healthcare data breaches to claim compensation for many years. If you have been affected by an incident of this nature, you may be entitled to recover compensation too.

We believe that the recurrence of health data breaches may be indicative of systematic data protection negligence, and you join our fight against this problem by making a claim.

For free, no-obligation advice on your case, simply contact us today or register for a call-back. We may be able to represent you for a case on a No Win, No Fee basis.