Tag: Virgin Media data breach
Claim for the information data breach that affected Virgin Media
You could be entitled to pursue an information data breach compensation claim if you are one of the 900,000 victims affected by the Virgin Media data leak.
Discovered in 2020, the data leak stemmed from a completely preventable error that resulted in the personal information of hundreds of thousands of people being exposed. Most were customers, but there were also some non-customers affected as well.
Data exposed in the information leak included names and contact details. This can be enough for criminals to misuse to commit fraud and theft. In some cases, very sensitive contract data was also caught up in the data leak as well.
Virgin Media data breach class actions
Any form of Virgin Media data breach class actions could be a style of Group Litigation Order (GLO) here in England and Wales, which is what we refer to them as.
Data breach class actions is typically the Americanised sort of term for large group actions, but it is widely used here in the UK as well sometimes, especially in the media. They mean the same thing really, as they are about a collective legal action where many people can come together to claim as part of one set of court proceedings. This is common in cases like this where there is a single event that has affected many thousands of people.
Read on for more information about how data breach class actions can work, and what may happen with the Virgin Media case.
First GDPR fine – data breaches and financial penalties
The GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) was introduced in the UK in 2018 as a means of updating existing data protection law. This important piece of legislation means that all organisations and individuals that store and process the personal data of others are obliged to comply with designated principles. Where they fail to do so, they could be found responsible for a data protection breach. In such cases, a data controller can face its first GDPR fine.
The ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office) is responsible for the enforcement of data protection law in the UK and has the power to impose financial penalties on companies that have failed to keep personal information secure. This power has been used in a number of high-profile data breach cases in the past few years, in which some data controllers have faced GDPR fines in the millions of pounds mark.
Alongside action by regulators, we believe it is important that victims are fairly compensated for the data breaches that they have been involved in. Those affected by the Virgin Media data breach, which involved the exposure of around 900,000 people’s personal information, can be eligible to join our group action against the company to fight for the compensation we say that they deserve.
Claim compensation for exposed data
In the digital world of today, we often disclose personal information to businesses and other organisations in order to make purchases, open accounts, or access services. In doing so, we share sensitive details about ourselves with many different third parties, trusting that it will stay safe in their hands. However, unfortunately, this is not always the case. Where you have been let down by a third-party organisation in this way, you may be eligible to claim compensation for exposed data.
In the Virgin Media data leak, around 900,000 people had their data security compromised after the company left a marketing database unsecured. Since the event was revealed, we have been investigating Virgin Media’s liability in the incident, and we believe that the company is responsible for a breach of data protection law.
As all data controllers are required to comply with the GDPR, they can be liable to pay compensation to the victims when they fail to do so. The errors made by Virgin Media may have been unintentional, but this may not lessen the harm they can cause. Anyone who has been affected by data exposure in the wake of the breach could be eligible to join our group action to seek the justice they deserve.
Fraud from data breaches – the real threat
As with many data leaks and incidents, fraud from data breaches is a real risk that could affect the victims. This could be the same for victims affected by the Virgin Media data leak.
Even a little information can go a long way, and criminals are becoming increasingly clever when it comes to the tactics that they use to try to steal and exploit personal information. Take it from a leading firm of consumer action and data breach lawyers – if your personal information is ever exposed, you need to be vigilant.
The risks are very real!
Cyber theft compensation claims
When hackers seek to gain access to a business or another organisation’s systems, it is often for the purpose of data theft. With such threats looming over them, it is essential that data controllers do their best to protect the personal information that is in their charge, or they risk compromising the security of customers and employees. In such cases, victims could be eligible to make cyber theft compensation claims.
In the Virgin Media data breach, a cybersecurity failing enabled anyone – which could have included hackers – to access a huge company database, potentially allowing them to steal the information of the 900,000 victims whose data it held. In our eyes, the breach was caused by the negligence of Virgin Media itself, which is why we are bringing a group action against the company. An unknown third party did access the database, and it remains unknown as to who they are or what their intentions are.
In accordance with the GDPR, all companies are required to protect the information that they hold and process in accordance with the legal principles. This includes implementing necessary technical measures and organisational policies. Where they fail to do so, they can be held liable via data breach compensation claims.
Big GDPR fines and data breach compensation claims
In recent years, the development of data protection law has allowed for greater penalties to be issued by regulators. In 2018, the GDPR was introduced in the UK as part of a rollout across the EU and, since then, some organisations have been levied with big GDPR fines, sometimes even reaching the millions or tens of millions of pounds.
In the UK, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the official data protection regulator, has issued some fines using the GDPR, imposing serious punishments for the data controllers involved. As important as this enforcement action is, it does not automatically allow the victims of data breaches to receive the compensation they deserve.
At Your Lawyers, we are specialists in data breach claims and group actions, and we have been involved in some of the biggest data protection lawsuits of recent years. In these group actions, we fight to win compensation for our clients, who have unjustly had their privacy rights breached. If you were affected by the Virgin Media data breach, you may be able to claim in our group action today.
Data protection errors can cause inappropriate access to data
Good data protection is all about strict regulations and protective technological measures, and mistakes in either of these areas can cause inappropriate access to data events. Whether this is one user unintentionally being allowed to view sensitive information, or a cyberattack incident in which hackers steal large quantities of private data, all such incidents can have serious repercussions.
In the Virgin Media data breach, personal information became subjected to unauthorised access after a supposedly secure database was the subject of an operational error. The incident is demonstrative of the fact that even seemingly small mistakes can have wide-reaching consequences for data security.
In our eyes, the data controller – Virgin Media – bears the overall responsibility for any harm caused to its data subjects, many of whom were customers of the company. If you were adversely impacted by the Virgin Media data breach, you could be eligible to claim compensation for any harm caused, so sign up today via our online form if you want to join the fight for justice.
Data falling into the hands of criminals
When a data breach occurs, the impact can often be data exposure, with the information being made vulnerable to access, and potentially to misuse, by unauthorised third parties. In some of the worst cases, the information exposure can cause victims’ personal data to fall into the hands of criminals, which is a major cause for concern.
Personal information can be highly valuable to cybercriminals. In fact, there is a whole facet of cybercrime dedicated to the theft, circulation and misuse of personal data. This data can be the key to a wealth of financial gain for cybercriminals.
While cybercriminals and fraudsters are often untraceable, and so they cannot be easily held accountable, you could achieve justice for a data breach you have been affected by if a third-party company was responsible. If the errors of a data controller led to your information finding its way into the hands of criminals, this could constitute a breach of data protection law. We believe that Virgin Media is to blame for exposing the data of 900,000 customers, so if you were affected, you could be eligible to recover thousands of pounds in our group action.
Synthetic identity theft- an effect of data exposure
When personal information reaches the hands of cybercriminals, it can become vulnerable to many different forms of malicious misuse. While some methods are more basic than others, tactics such as synthetic identity theft can be more sophisticated and can make the perpetrator even harder to trace.
In order to maintain data security, it is important that both consumers and businesses are aware of the challenges that they are up against. This is particularly the case for organisations that fulfil the role of a data controller, meaning that they store and process personal information disclosed to them for business-related or other legitimate purposes. However, there are unfortunately too many data controllers that fail to assess, defend against, or respond to the threats to data security, which can result in information exposure for their data subjects.
If you have had your personal information exposed, it is important to know what you can do to tackle the security risks posed, and it is also vital that you are well informed regarding your legal rights. At Your Lawyers, we can offer advice to all victims of data breaches to help minimise the blow of data breaches, as well as helping them to seek justice via compensation claims.
