Virgin Media breach and the inappropriate access to personal information

The Virgin Media data breach really highlights the issue of inappropriate access to personal information and how easily it can be caused.

But victims shouldn’t suffer in silence – there is a pathway to justice. You can be eligible to claim compensation when data has been left unsure and has been accessed when it shouldn’t have been. This is the very basis of the compensation action we have launched here, and if you have yet to start your case, you should sign-up as soon as you can.

With our No Win, No Fee representation available, what have you got to lose?

Can you claim for the inappropriate access to personal information?

You can be entitled to claim compensation for any inappropriate access to personal information. Whether this stems from someone abusing their right to access data, or where an organisation has allowed access to information due to an error, a victim can be entitled to damages.

In the Virgin Media case, we have seen that the information for around 900,000 people was left unsecured and accessible online. The breach was discovered by a security researcher who raised the alarm with the telecoms giant, and the problem was then fixed. However, the data had been left unsecured and accessible for a period of 10 months between April 2019 and February 2020. During this breach period, at least one other third-party is understood to have accessed the data, and no one knows who it is.

Importantly, criminals and hackers use the same methods that security researchers do for finding troves of exposed information to then abuse. Unfortunately, this means that the data is at risk of being misused where the access was by someone with malicious intentions. They may already have used the information for illegal activity, or may still be used in the future.

What do you claim for?

In a case of the inappropriate access to personal information, what exactly is it that you claim for? In most cases, people will not suffer an actual financial loss or any expenses, so what do you receive?

It’s important to know that the GDPR can allow a data breach victim to receive compensation for any distress caused by the loss of control of your personal information. The Virgin Media incident is a case where some 900,000 people have lost control of their personal data, so the GDPR can apply and allow them to receive damages.

How much a person can claim may depend on what information was involved and how this has personally affected them. This can differ from person to person, but we did speak to the media about our early estimations a few months ago. We believe that victims may be able to claim up to an estimated £5,000.00 in compensation for the inappropriate access to personal information in the breach.

You can read more about our successful media outreach campaign here. If you did also incur any losses and expenses, these can be considered as well as the case for distress.

Joining the compensation action now

Ready to join the compensation action now and benefit from our No Win, No Fee representation?

All you need to do is complete a few forms on the main section of the website here and you can get started right away.

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