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Canterbury City Council Data Breach Claims

Is Canterbury City Council your local council? Perhaps you’ve begun to suspect a Canterbury City Council data breach may have occurred? You’ll find this guide helpful if you are wondering whether you could make a data breach claim. We examine the criteria a data breach case must meet in order for it to be valid. In addition, we look at how solicitors services can be funded through a No Win No Fee Agreement and why our solicitors may take your case on.

Canterbury City council data breach claims guide

Canterbury City council data breach claims guide

Nevertheless, before we begin this guide, it is important for you to be aware that each claim is unique in some manner. The reason for filing the claim, or the reason for seeking damages, for example. There might be some similarities between your claim and other data breach claims, but it will be unique in some way. As a result, we cannot guarantee that we will answer all your questions in this guide. It is impossible to cover all the possible combinations of circumstances that may be present in a claim. Hopefully, this guide will answer most of your questions, but if it doesn’t, our claims team can. Our expert advisors can be reached at any time of day, 7 days a week, on 0800 073 8804. They are prepared to provide you with answers to your questions.

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A Guide On Dealing With A Canterbury City Council Data Breach

If your data might have been exposed by a possible data breach you may suffer financial loss, and psychological harm because of the breach. Within this guide, we are going to dissect the concept of claiming for a data breach so that you have the information needed if thinking about pursuing a claim.

In the first part of this guide, we examine some key data breach statistics. Furthermore, we offer a general overview of what a data breach may entail. Also, you will be informed about what kinds of data are in need of protection. In addition, we will discuss the data security and privacy laws in the UK.

Next, we will take a look at the responsibilities of the council related to the protection of your data. Furthermore, we have provided a number of example scenarios of how data has the potential to be breached.

The next part of the guide describes how a data breach could be reported and how to file a complaint. Additionally, we cover how you can file a claim against a data controller, those who handle personal data.

We then discuss some of the financial considerations associated with a claim. Firstly, we will examine the reasons for claiming damages. Secondly, we have provided a sample compensation table. With this, you can get a rough estimate of the value of your physical suffering. Last, we will discuss No Win No Fee agreements, and you will learn more about this type of fee structure.

A few words of advice about filing a claim are offered in the final section of this guide. Along with some links and an FAQ section.

Claims Deadlines

In order to file a claim for a data breach, you must do so within the applicable deadline. Generally, this deadline is determined by the facts of your claim. In most cases, the deadline for filing a data breach claim is as follows.

If you are claiming against a public body, you have one year to start a claim. So, generally speaking, a council claim would have a one-year deadline. In most other circumstances, you would have six years to start a claim.

Further consideration must be made, however. Occasionally, other factors may play a role. For this reason, we recommend you contact our claims team and explain your claim to them. Our claims representatives can then inform you of the specific deadline.

Cybersecurity Statistical Releases

Data protection and security laws are enforced by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). In a later section of our guide, we will go into greater detail about this. Initially, we need only to review some of the publically available data that the ICO provides. Below is a graph based on the data provided. This graphic illustrates how data incidents happened in local governments during the first quarter of the 2021/2022 financial year. It only looks at cyber breaches.

Statistical graph Cyber Security Incidents Local Gov.

Cyber Security Incidents Local Gov.

To prevent a Canterbury City Council data breach it is vital that data protection laws and regulations are adhered to. As a result of a data breach, you may have suffered financial or mental hardship. A valid data breach claim would be made on the grounds that your personal information was not protected appropriately by the data controller.

What Could A Data Breach In Canterbury City Council Be?

Local authorities are legally bound to protect any data that falls within the scope of UK legislation. It is their duty to take all necessary steps to protect this personal data. Failure to do so can lead to the ICO penalising organisations. A data breach is a security incident that allows personal information to be destroyed, lost, altered, stolen or accessed unlawfully. This can happen through accidental actions, being deliberate or processed without a lawful basis.

What Data Is Protected?

It is not required by UK law for Canterbury City Council to protect every piece of data it collects or uses about you. The UK General Data Protection Regulation UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 DPA state what information has the right to be protected. A brief summary of the types of data that must be protected follows.

  • All data that is directly associated with you is considered personal data. This includes your name, telephone number, home address, email address, passport number, etc. Additionally, your personal information includes financially related data such as credit card information and bank account information.
  • All the rest of data that can be used to learn things about you, and potentially exploited, is considered special data. This can include your religion and race, your union membership, records of your medical care and financial records, etc.

How Do The Laws Apply?

UK information security was governed by the European Union’s (EU) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) before leaving the EU. Following the UK’s departure from the EU, local laws will apply. Among the legislation is the UK GDPR as well as the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA).

Is A Council Not Covered By The GDPR?

In the same way, any business or privately owned organisation must protect your data, local authorities must do the same. By maintaining compliance, the local authority can prevent a possible data breach in Canterbury City Council from occurring. Data controllers should therefore adopt and follow the principles of the UK GDPR. In short, they should act in accordance with the principles outlined below.

  • Accurately maintaining data.
  • Your data must be stored for a limited time frame.
  • Ensure that all personal and special information is always protected.
  • Keep as little data as possible.
  • Only collect the data that is absolutely necessary
  • Ensure that data-related activities are conducted legally, fairly, and transparently.
  • Data collection, storage, and processing should always be secure

Types Of Data Breaches And How They Could Affect Your Privacy

To prevent a Canterbury City Council data breach steps must be taken to ensure there are robust cyber security systems in place. This is so that if hackers try to infiltrate any online databases or systems they are blocked from accessing personal information. Also, human error is a major player when it comes to data being breached. Training staff on data awareness and the importance of keeping personal information secure and confidential is key.

Here we have given several sample scenarios of how it is possible for data to be breached;

  • Employees who have access to you or your family’s personal information discuss this information outside the workplace.
  • Cybercriminals can exploit security vulnerabilities to access your personal information. This might lead to your personal information being misused for fraudulent purposes.
  • Someone is sent an email that contains some of your personal data that hasn’t been authorised to receive it.
  • Old files containing your personal data are disposed of without following best practices.

Spotting a data breach may not always be easy that is why data controllers who suffer a breach must inform data subjects, those who supply personal information, if they are at risk. If you would like some help with this, contact our claims department.

Breaches In Housing Service Data Privacy

If you are a social housing tenant then your local authority or housing association may store quite a bit of information about you. The information that could be stored about you could be your contact details, financial details, bank account information as well as sensitive information such as medical conditions.

Here we look at ways this information could potentially be breached;

  • The landlord receives a pack of information about you, but not all your personal information is redacted. Meaning your personal data may have been breached.
  • A cyberattack could compromise information that has been stored about you and your family. Your information could then be used in an illegal manner.
  • During disposal of a device like a hard drive, digital data stored on the drive is not properly wiped in accordance with guidelines.
  • Computer screens are left on with electronic documents, such as a scanned copy of a rent statement open. This is visible to anyone passing by.

Contact our claims department if you have questions about a data breach

What Information Should Be Reported To The ICO?

Do you think that a data breach in Canterbury City Council has occurred? There are two steps you could take to find out whether this is the case. To begin with, you could contact a Data Protection Officer (DPO) at the council itself. However, not every council will have a DPO on duty. In your correspondence, you can ask whether a breach has taken place. If it has, you could ask if any of your personal information has been affected.

The ICO may take your complaint if the data controller fails to adequately respond to your query. Or if there is a data breach. However, reporting a data breach may go unexamined if you last spoke with the data controller more than three months ago. The ICO generally does not follow up on aged reports and complaints.

What To Do If Your Data Privacy Has Been Breached

Data breach claims at times can be complex. The claims process may seem difficult to navigate. That is why we always advise having a solicitor help pursue your case, Data breach solicitors will have the know-how on how to file the claim correctly and within the right time frames to prevent it from becoming statute-barred.

Legal Expert can assist you in filing a compensation claim immediately if your case is viewed as valid. Simply call our claims team and one of our advisors will be able to assess your claim. In the event that it is valid, they will arrange for a solicitor to begin the processing for you.

How Are Compensation Payouts Estimated?

If you make a successful compensation claim for a data breach there will be two main sources of damages. The first is for mental hardship, stress or trauma that comes under the heading of non-material damages. The second is if you suffered financial losses as a result of the data breach. These losses are known as material damages.

Vidal-Hall and others v Google Inc. was heard at the Court of Appeal in 2015. Ultimately, the claim was successful. A jury awarded damages to the defendants. And this was despite the fact that there were no financial losses incurred. The precedent has been set for you to follow. A data breach can be highly stressful and traumatising. This could lead to psychological conditions. Compensation may be available for these health issues.

Following a data breach, you might be entitled to financial reimbursement. Cybercriminals may cause you direct financial loss by using your data. Fraudulent credit card purchases or funds transferred out of your bank account are good examples. Depending on whether your claim is successful, you might be able to recover these losses.

Calculating Payouts Should A Data Breach In Canterbury City Council Occur

There is no way to determine the average compensation payment. Nevertheless, we are providing you with the table below, which displays possible ranges of compensation for non-material-damages. This table was created using information obtained from the Judicial College found in the guidelines it produces.

Edit
Severity of Condition Health Issue Potential Damages More Info
Moderately severe Psychiatric damage £17,900 – £51,460 Very traumatic events can cause moderately severe psychological damage. Symptoms of psychological damage can significantly affect the victim’s life. Troubling symptoms may persist for a long time after initial recovery.
Less severe Psychiatric damage Up to £5,500 Stressful or shocking events that cause less severe psychological damage. These symptoms will affect victims to a lesser extent. After recovery, some trivial symptoms may persist for some time, but they will not adversely affect the quality of life.
Severe Psychiatric damage £51,460 – £108,620 Repeatedly experiencing very traumatic events can cause severe psychological damage. Victims are likely to experience life-changing effects. The victim may still experience major symptoms for the foreseeable which will significantly affect their lives.
Moderate Psychiatric damage £5,500 – £17,900 A moderate psychological injury caused by a traumatic event. A victim’s life will be significantly affected by the symptoms. Mild symptoms may persist after initial recovery for some time.

No Win No Fee Claims For A Canterbury City Council Data Breach

No Win No Fee is a phrase you’ve probably heard before. People have been using this approach to get legal help for making personal injury claims for a long time. It is important to know that the same fee structure can apply to a valid claim for a data breach in Canterbury City Council.

Under a No Win No Fee Agreement there are no upfront solicitor fees. And there will be no fees during the time the claim is being resolved. In the event that the claim fails, your lawyer will not ask for a fee at all. However, if the claim is successful, a small success fee may be due. This fee will be taken from the settlement your lawyer receives on your behalf.

How Could A Data Protection Lawyer Help Me?

Choosing an experienced claims solicitor is a good idea to help with your claim for a data breach. It will greatly improve your chances of winning the case, and it will greatly improve your chances of receiving the maximum amount of compensation.

Please contact our team with details of your case. Upon evaluating your claim, an advisor will assign a solicitor to take care of it. Generally, this will be handled under a No Win No Fee agreement. In other words, there will be no fee to pay your lawyer unless the case is successful.

Make A Claim

Thank you for reading this guide on the process you could follow should a Canterbury City Council data breach arise. Reach out to our team using the contact information below. You can get your claim started 24 hours a day, 365 days a year by contacting our expert team of advisors.

Telephone: 0800 073 8804

Use our webchat or fill in a contact request.

Useful Pages

We have published other guides about making data breach claims. Take a look at these links.

The following websites also contain useful information that may be of interest to you.

Reporting A Data Breach

Finding Out What Data About You Is Stored

Council Data Privacy FAQs

Below you will find answers to some simple questions about a data breach claim.

What are some data privacy laws?

The UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018

What is considered data privacy?

Data privacy relates to how an organisation has to protect your personal data from access by unauthorised parties.

Who is exempt from UK GDPR?

Some types of data can be exempt when national security is part of the equation.

Thank you for reading this guide on the process you could follow should a Canterbury City Council data breach arise.

Guide By Wheeler

Edited By Melissa.