Tag: Virgin Media data breach
Ethically handling data – the responsibilities of businesses and organisations
Businesses and organisations today can no longer ignore the importance of ethically handling data, as it is vital in ensuring customer trust, as well as legal compliance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
As such, any third party owes a responsibility to the customers or users who have trusted them with their personal data, as the security of this data is essential to personal safety and privacy.
When a third party fails in this duty, there can be an ethical violation at play, for which they can also be held accountable by the law. We believe that the mishandling of personal data is always a grave breach of duty, even when there is no malicious intent behind the breach. Virgin Media failed in their duties of data protection, so any affected victims have the right to claim compensation.
Data breaches and the GDPR
In legal terms, data breaches and the GDPR are closely linked. This is an element that is applicable in the Virgin Media data breach group action that we are working hard on.
Whenever an organisation or individual is sued for a data breach, they can be being held accountable for breaching the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This is the statute that governs data protection in the UK and was implemented in 2018 as part of wider EU laws.
We understand that the GDPR can be a somewhat mystifying area of law, and many people are unsure what their entitlements under the GDPR actually are. In the case of Virgin Media data breach, many affected victims may not even be aware of their right to claim compensation. We are here to alert everyone who had their data exposed as to their legal rights.
The downfall of Virgin Media? Trust in breached companies can fall
It is undoubtable that customer trust in breached companies can fall after a data incident, and telecoms giant Virgin Media is no exception.
Responsible for one of the most infamous and large-scale data breaches that came to light in 2020, Virgin Media hit the headlines when it was revealed that the information of 900,000 people, mostly customers, had been exposed for around 10 months after a database was left unsecured.
This infamy has brought about significant repercussions for the company; not only in the form of damning news coverage, but also by way of the legal action we have launched. We are a leading consumer rights and data compensation law firm taking action against Virgin Media, and you can join our group action now if you have been affected by this data leak and wish to claim compensation.
Misuse of private information in the Virgin Media data breach
Following the Virgin Media data breach discovered in March 2020, 900,000 victims were left vulnerable to the potential misuse of private information.
The telecommunications company revealed that a database had been left unsecure for some 10 months, resulting in victims’ information being accessed on “at least one occasion” by an unknown third party.
Many victims were left understandably reeling in the wake of the event, confronted with the possibility that their information could be misused by criminals. We believe that Virgin Media should be held accountable for the risks that they have exposed the victims to, which is why we urge any affected people to join the Virgin Media group action today.
Advice about risks following the Virgin Media Data Breach
In response to the Virgin Media data breach, Your Lawyers has been offering affected customers advice about risks that may have been induced by the exposure of their personal information.
In March of last year, Virgin Media revealed that an error had led to the exposure of 900,000 people’s data, all of which was held in an insecure database for ten months before the issue was rectified.
While Virgin Media has assured victims that financial details and passwords were not compromised, phone numbers, email addresses and home addresses of customers were accessed at least once by an unauthorised, unknown third-party.
An employee data breach- victims and wrongdoers
In an employee data breach, the impact to both the employers and the employees can be severe, due to the long-term damage which the exposure of data can provoke.
Employees represent a two-sided data protection risk to businesses: on the one hand, employees can be responsible for the ‘human error’ data breaches that plague our headlines, or they could themselves be the victims at the centre of a data breach.
As such, an internal, employee data breach could be no less damaging to a company’s reputation and expenses than a customer data breach, so employee data protection should never be taken lightly. In terms of the Virgin Media data breach, this is a pivotal factor to consider.
Make sure to join the Virgin Media Group Action before it is too late
Make sure that you join the Virgin Media Group Action as soon as you can. There may be some big developments taking place in 2021, and you do not want to miss your chance to claim.
There are plenty of good reasons to claim, and with our No Win, No Fee representation on offer, what have you got to lose?
As a leading firm of consumer action and data breach compensation experts, we are here to help. Starting your legal case is simple and easy with our website here, and as the representatives of thousands of clients in dozens of group and multi-party actions, we are well established to help you now.
The Virgin Media data leak and what 2021 holds
The Virgin Media data leak was one of many that took place in 2020 as we continue to see a huge surge in breaches and cyberattacks taking place.
We are now more than two years on from the introduction of the GDPR that ought to have acted as a clear deterrent to avoid these kinds of avoidable data leaks taking place. Despite the power of the new regulations, we continue to see a substantial number of breaches, and we are left wondering if the situation will ever relent.
One key thing to know is that the GDPR can empower victims of a data breach to be able to claim compensation. Although the deterrent element of the law may not be working as effectively as it should be, the power for consumers to take action remains in place.
Compensation claims for corporate data breach victims – Virgin Media
It is important for corporate data breach victims to make a compensation claim. In the case of the Virgin Media data breach, we are fighting for justice for a large group of victims on a No Win, No Fee basis.
Many victims may not know that they can even make a claim, or they may be scared to take on huge corporations. That’s where we can help – we know the distress and upset that can be caused when your personal information is involved in a data breach, which is why we take claims forward on a No Win, No Fee basis for eligible clients.
Corporate data breach victims, such as the 900,000 victims of the Virgin Media data breach, can be legally entitled to make compensation claims. When corporations breach data protection laws, it is your right to claim compensation and hold the corporation to account; to bring justice for yourself and for the other victims. By making compensation claims, you can also help to make sure that the company takes data breaches seriously in the hopes that they put systems in place to prevent further breaches as well.
How to prevent data breaches
When it comes to data security, it is vital that companies know how to prevent data breaches and put all the correct systems in place to do so.
In cases of huge data breaches that could have been prevented, such as the Virgin Media data breach, it is important that the organisation is held to account for their actions and that they are encouraged to put preventative measures in place. Really, it should not happen in the first place all, but we cannot stop companies having a lax attitude to data security.
Our job is to hold organisations to account for their irresponsibility in the hopes that said organisations will take data security seriously in the future, and to make sure victims get some form of justice. The Information Commissioners Office (ICO) is responsible for assessing a breach and implementing fines, but we are responsible for taking data breach compensation claims forward and getting victims the justice that victims deserve.
