Virgin Media published personal data online: your rights explained

Virgin Media published personal data online by accident which led to a significant data breach that we subsequently launched compensation action for on behalf of thousands of people.

This incident was a breach of the GDPR which can entitle victims of the data leak to claim compensation for any distress that has been suffered by the loss of control of their personal information. We are representing thousands of victims right now on a No Win, No Fee basis because we believe that there are strong enough prospects of being able to succeed with our compensation action.

Find out if you are eligible to pursue a case by contacting our expert team here now.

Published personal data online: the Virgin Media data leak

Around April 2019, Virgin Media accidentally published personal data online for some 900,000 people, most of whom were customers. This happened due to an incorrectly configured database, and the information was unfortunately left exposed and accessible online for a period of over 10 months until February 2020.

The leaked database was only discovered by a third-party security researcher who then alerted Virgin Media to the problem. Unfortunately, during the long period of time in which the data was left online, at least one unknown third party is understood to have accessed the information. Much of the database contained personal contact information but, for some, it also included very sensitive requests in respect of blocking and unblocking explicit websites.

It is known that cybercriminals do use simple methods like security researchers do to find easily exposed information to then subsequently exploit it. They will often sell information on the dark web to fraudsters and criminals who can then use it to exploit people and steal money.

Your legal rights to compensation

Ultimately, Virgin Media published personal data online by accident. However, because those involved did not consent to their information being publicly shared in this way, this event was a breach of the GDPR.

Because this is a breach of the GDPR, victims who were affected by the Virgin Media data leak could be entitled to claim compensation for any distress that has been caused by the loss of control of their personal information. If any losses or expenses have been incurred, these can be factored into a case as well, but most people claim for just the distress only.

It can be distressing to know that Virgin Media published personal data online because this information is something that you have the right to control over. That control has been lost as a result of the data breach, and that can be a very distressing thing to have to suffer from. It can also be distressing to know that at least one person appears to have accessed the data, but who knows who else may have seen the information? For all we know, more people could have accessed it or seen the information, and data may have been shared online with criminals and fraudsters for years.

Act now or risk missing out

Our Virgin Media data leak compensation action has been ongoing since news of the incident broke in the media way back at the start of 2020. We are at an advanced stage for many of the thousands of people that we represent, but time really is running out to claim.

If you have not already started  a claim, you may be out of time to do so in respect of certain time limitations, but you may still be able to pursue a case as things stand at the moment. If we can help you then you should be eligible to claim with us on a No Win, No Fee basis.

All you need to do is complete a few forms on our website here now and we can set your claim up and confirm if your case is one that we can continue with.

The content of this post/page was considered accurate at the time of the original posting and/or at the time of any posted revision. The content of this page may, therefore, be out of date. The information contained within this page does not constitute legal advice. Any reliance you place on the information contained within this page is done so at your own risk.