Data Breach Compensation – What You Need to Know

What is a data breach and how to handle it? 

A data breach is an accident that exposes someone’s confidential information. It might involve the loss of your bank account, credit card numbers, passwords, email, personal health information, and so on. A data breach may be intentional or unintentional. A cybercriminal may attack a company’s database and steal clients’ shared sensitive information. An employee at a company may accidentally lose or expose important information on the internet. 

Either case, cybercriminals may access your personal details and take advantage of you by exposing them. Generally, large corporations, hospitals, government offices and colleges as well have all been targets of data breaches. In the next article, you will learn about data breaches, how it happens, and what you can do to stay safe. 

The World’s Biggest Data Breach 

According to data breach statistics, the largest data breach in history is the one when Yahoo! was attacked several years in a row. Year of a data breach – 2013-2016 with 3 billion user accounts breached. It’s hard to think how Yahoo! got away with this. It took the company many years to figure out how significant the data breach they were dealing with was, so news kept slobbering around. Eventually, it turned out that the company was attacked by a group of Russian spies. The world’s most significant data breach has returned settlement payments to affected users. On a global level, this is an example of how tons of personal information can land in cybercriminals’ hands, roughly impacting millions of people or billion user accounts. 

How Does a Data Breach Happen?

A data breach is terrifying – it may change people’s lives. Businesses and governments alike can go through huge changes and difficulties due to important information exposed. Whether you are offline or online, hackers know how to go through the internet, your phone, Bluetooth, or other online services you may use. Without giving proper care to detail, you can experience massive data breaches. And since many users don’t know how common data breach is, they don’t give enough attention. 

Anyone can be at risk of a data breach, there’s no question about that. From users to large enterprises and governments. If you’re not protected, you could be the next victim of a data breach. As our tech devices get more exposed to the internet, there are even more places for data breaches. New tech advancements are being created faster than we can blink. Many new digital products, tools, or services are being used with no or minimal security tests, it turns out that we will see this problem grow. Without security, you’re guaranteed to be at risk. Consider protecting yourself by understanding how data breach works. 

Here’s how it may occur:

• A malicious insider – is a person who intentionally accesses and harms a user or a company.
• An accidental insider – an employee may unintentionally expose sensitive information.
• Malicious hackers – cybercriminals using attack routes to collect information from individuals or networks.
• Lost devices – unlocked laptops, or anything containing sensitive information may go missing or lost.

Since malicious methods are used to breach by cybercriminals, you must know what popular methods hackers use: 

• Malware
• Phishing
• Brute force attacks

Even though a data breach can result from an accident, the real damage happens when the person unauthorized accesses and steals or sells personal and sensitive information to cause harm or gain finances. Targeting an organization takes planning. Malicious criminals first research victims to learn their weaknesses, then develop campaigns to get inside a network and download malware. Once inside, cybercriminals have the freedom to search and steal the data they want. Oftentimes, it takes more than five months to detect a data breach. 

Data Breach – How Much Compensation Can I Claim?

If you’ve been a victim of a data breach, the amount of compensation you can claim will depend on the nature of the breach and how it impacted you. The law around data breaches isn’t known by too many people, so they’re not aware of the compensation they should be awarded. 

A data breach may affect you financially and mentally, so you may get the compensation that reflects this matter. Data Breach Law solicitors can take a look at your situation and tell you how much compensation you’re eligible for in a data breach claim. Get in touch today to get a free case assessment. 

How to Prevent Being a Victim of Data Breach

Data breach anticipation must include everyone at all levels, from IT staffs, to all people in between. When thinking about how to prevent data breach attacks, security is the answer. Each person interacting with a system or a network becomes vulnerable to hackers. Children using a tablet on a home network can be at risk. 

Here’s what you can do to avoid a data breach:

• Upgrading devices.
• Upgrading software (as soon as the option is available).
• Encourage better use of cybersecurity practices by using a password manager.
• Using a VPN service and antivirus protection.
• Educate your employees to avoid socially engineered attacks.

What Can You Do to Claim Compensation for Data Breach?

You can claim compensation for financial loss and personal distress in a data breach claim. This includes:

• Identity theft
• Fraud
• Financial loss
• Distress
• Discrimination
• Damage to your company’s reputation

If you are looking to make a data breach claim, you must collect and show evidence of any financial losses you might have experienced. For example, if a doctor has caused you mental health issues, like depression or anxiety, you can claim compensation. 

You should report any suspicious activity promptly and effectively to save you from a lot of stress. Give a phone call to a data breach solicitor and ask for advice regarding your circumstances. And be careful, data breach doesn’t just happen online; they can happen in a variety of ways. If data is not stored securely, hackers will find ways to access it. The consequences of a data breach can be minor, but you might also experience severe financial losses.