We've been featured in:

Accountant Data Breach Compensation Claims

This guide will address how an accountant data breach could occur and when you may be able to claim. Your accountant may need to collect various types of personal data in order to fulfil their role. The exposure of such data could cause an impact on your finances and have an impact on you psychologically.

Accountant data breach

Accountant data breach claims guide

We will provide information on what to do following a data breach. This guide will also outline the data breach claim process and the different heads of claim you could receive if your claim is a success. 

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us. If one of our advisors thinks you have a valid claim, you could be connected with one of our No Win No Fee solicitors. 

You can get in touch for free advice by:

  • Calling 0800 073 8804
  • Using our online claim form
  • Speaking to an advisor using the live chat feature on this page

Select A Section

What Is An Accountant Data Breach?

A data breach is a security incident in which confidential and sensitive data is compromised by an unauthorised person. The Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) follows the framework outlined in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and sets out how organisations should control and process your data. An updated version of the DPA now sits alongside the UK GDPR as the regime that says how data must be processed in the UK. 

Article 4 of the UK GDPR defines personal data as information that may be used to identify a natural person. This can either be information that is used to identify you on its own or when combined with other information. 

Speak to an advisor to find out whether you could be eligible to claim for damage sustained after an accountant data breach. They could connect you to our experienced data breach solicitors. 

What Financial Data Could An Accountant Hold?

As mentioned above, accountants may handle special categories of data, including financial data. Special category data requires more protection due to its sensitive nature.

In terms of what personal information and financial data an accountant may hold, take a look at the list below:

  • Scans of ID documentation 
  • Contact details, such as phone number and email
  • National Insurance Number
  • Tax records
  • Salary information 
  • P60s and other tax forms 

If you have further questions on what information could be involved in an accountant data breach, our team of advisors are here to help. They can offer you free legal advice about your eligibility to claim. 

How Accountancy Data Breaches Could Happen

There are various ways that an accountant data breach could happen. Because accountants deal with financial data, and can often make payments on your behalf, cybercriminals and hackers may target the information they hold. For example, an accountancy firm may have its systems accessed because it failed to update the security systems.

However, data breaches don’t always involve cyber-attacks. Sometimes an incident may happen as a result of human error. For example, accountants handle large quantities of data and may accidentally delete this data or send it to the wrong person. Alternatively, an accountant may take paperwork home to work on that contains personal data, and accidentally leave this in an unlocked briefcase while on public transport. 

Causes of Data Breaches 

The Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2022 highlights the cyber security risks that organisations, including businesses like accountancy firms, have faced in the past year. The official statistics are gathered by the government’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. 

The following statistics indicate the most common causes of data breaches for businesses in the last 12 months:

  • Phishing attempts were made to 83% of businesses
  • Others impersonating an organisation in emails or online was the second most common breach, with 27% of businesses affected 
  • Viruses, spyware or malware (excluding ransomware) impacted 12% of businesses
  • Just 4% of businesses were subjected to a ransomware attack, however 56% of businesses had a policy in place not to pay ransoms

Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have been harmed by an accountant data breach. One of our advisors could give you a free assessment of the value of your claim. 

What Are The Risks Of Accountancy Data Breaches?

An accountant data breach presents a risk of the disclosure of sensitive information such as financial data. If financial data is stolen, hackers may coerce money from you or could even make fraudulent transactions. Furthermore, cybercriminals may use personal information obtained from a data breach to pose as an organisation. This is known as a phishing attack, and you could be tricked into giving them even more personal data. 

Another risk of a data breach could be identity theft. When your financial data is stolen, it may be sold on the dark web. If this information is combined with other personal data that is lost or stolen, criminals could build an online profile of you. This could lead to future issues, including a long-term impact on your credit score. In turn, this could cause you significant stress. 

Additionally, you must be able to prove that the data breach happened because of the failure of the organisation in order to make a claim. If an accountancy firm did its best to protect your personal data, but a breach occurred despite this, you would not be eligible to claim. Call our team for more information. 

Accountant Data Breach Compensation Calculator

You may claim for material damage following an accountant data breach. Material damages account for financial costs you have endured because of the incident. However, it is important that you provide evidence for material damages. An example of this could be if, in the event of a data breach, you had to take time off work. To prove your loss of earnings during this time it would be useful to retain wage slips.

Additionally, it is possible to claim for psychological injuries caused by a data breach without having incurred any financial losses. In the Court of Appeal case, Vidal-Hall and others v Google Inc (2015), it was ruled that claimants are allowed to seek non-material damages for any injury that was the result of a data breach.

A separate case, Gulati & Others v MGN Limited (2015), held that the settlement for psychiatric harm can be valued in line with figures used in personal injury claims. For this reason, we’ve included figures from the Judicial College Guidelines in the table below to give you an idea of the bracket compensation amounts outlined for psychiatric issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder.

Edit
Injury Severity Injury Bracket Notes
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Severe £56,180 – £94,470 All aspects of your life are affected, including your ability to work.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Moderate £7,680 – £21,730 A recovery is likely to be made while ongoing effects will not be grossly disabling.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Less Severe Up to £7,680 Symptoms may persist however a full recovery is likely to be made within two years.
General Psychiatric Damage Severe £51,460 to £108,620 Aspects of your life, including your ability to sleep and work, are likely to be affected.
General Psychiatric Damage Moderate £5,500 to £17,900 There will be a marked improvement and the prognosis is relatively optimistic.
General Psychiatric Damage Less Severe £1,440 to £5,500 There will be an impact on daily activities and sleeping.
General Psychiatric Damage Moderately Severe £17,900 to £51,460 Significant problems with work, life and relationships but better prognosis than in more severe cases.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Moderately Severe £21,730 to £56,180 There will be a prognosis for some recovery with professional help but significant disability for the foreseeable future.

Please note that you should only use the bracket figures as a guide because the actual payout you receive will depend on several factors unique to your case.

For free legal advice on the data breach claims process, you may wish to speak with an advisor; if you have a valid case, you could be connected with a No Win No Fee solicitor. Look at our reviews to see how we’ve helped other satisfied claimants.

Find Out More About Accountant Data Breach Claims

An accountant data breach could leave you out of pocket, particularly if you have had financial data stolen. Consequently, you may not be able to pay upfront fees or ongoing costs to a solicitor to work on your claim. However, you may recognise the benefits of working with a solicitor and wish to do so. 

If this is the case for you, a No Win No Fee agreement could be an alternative solution to funding legal representation. 

No Win No Fee solicitors do not require a fee upfront, nor do they require any payments if your claim is unsuccessful.  Solicitors will take a legally-capped fee from your compensation if your claim is successful.

Our team may connect you to our solicitors if they think you have a strong enough claim. You can get in touch by:

Data Breaches Involving Financial Data

Below are some more resources where you can find out more about data breaches involving financial data.

National Cyber Strategy 2022 – The government’s approach to promoting cyber security.

Cyber Security Breaches Survey – Find all previous government surveys on cyber security breaches.

Data Security Incident Trends – Security incident trends as recorded by the ICO. 

If you have found this guide useful, you may also be interested in reading some more of our articles.

How To Report A Data Breach – What steps you can take to report a data security incident.

My Personal Data Has Been Lost – Find out how much compensation you could be entitled to if a company has lost your personal data.

Data Breach Compensation Claims – A guide to data breaches and making a claim.

We hope you have found this guide useful. If you have further questions on what to do in an accountant data breach, please contact us for free legal advice using the above details.

Written by Jennings

Edited by Stocks