Has your personal data been breached?

Nearly everyone has their personal details stored digitally by lots of different organisations, whether it’s with your bank, through your holiday company, or who you regularly shop with online. These days, someone is holding your details on a computer. Under the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018) and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), there are very strict obligations in the storage and management of your personal data and who can access it.

They need to keep it secure.
They cannot disclose it to third parties without your consent.
They must advise you immediately if someone has unlawfully accessed your records.
They must not keep personal data for longer than they need it.
They must make the data they hold about you available to you.
You must consent to them keeping a record of your data in the first place.

Data Breach

Large organisations can literally be responsible for holding, processing and keeping secure hundreds of thousands of people’s data. They need systems and procedures in place to do this, but what happens when those systems fail and someone gets your details who shouldn’t?

Unfortunately, this happens all too often. The two most common causes of this are:

Human error – someone has accidentally allowed access to data or sent information to the wrong party by mistake.
Cybercrime – organised gangs of criminals, terrorists, rogue states and even people who just “hack” data for their own amusement can all result in your data falling into the wrong hands and being used against you. This could be locking up your systems until you pay a ransom, impersonating you for internet purchases or simply stealing from you.

In either situation, it’s extremely worrying when it happens to you. Data breach can often have dire financial consequences. You may need our advice to assist you in recovering compensation for any financial losses suffered or for the mere inconvenience and stress of knowing you were a victim of a data breach.

Data Monetisation

Data monetisation happens when an organisation holding your data has used it without your consent, in such a way as to make money from it.

It can occur when your data is sold to other companies who then use it. You might then get unwanted calls and spam emails as a result of the actions of a company monetising your data.

The act is a breach of the DPA and GDPR, for which that company should not only refrain from ever doing it again, but may owe you compensation as a result of their actions.