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Green Party Data Breach – Could I Claim Compensation

Green Party Data Breach - Could I Claim Compensation

Green Party Data Breach – Could I Claim Compensation

In this guide we look at what your next steps could potentially be should there ever be a Green Party data breach and it includes your personal data. Learn what a data breach is with this guide. 

We examine the legislation that governs data protection. Additionally, we look at what rights that you, as a data subject, are granted over your personal data. 

We explore examples of how data breaches could occur. Also, we look at statistics of data security incidents that have occurred in local and central government as well as in the political sector. 

In addition, we look at examples of personal data and special category data that could be compromised. We explore steps you could take following a data breach as well as looking at what impact a data breach could have on your life. 

To conclude this guide we explore the possibility of hiring a No Win No Fee solicitor should you wish to claim data breach compensation. Should a Green Party data breach occur that has meant your personal data is at risk and this has caused you financial or mental harm, you can contact our advisors for free legal advice. 

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Select A Section

  1. What Could A Green Party Data Breach Be?
  2. How Could A Green Party Data Breach Occur?
  3. What Data Could Be Involved In A Political Party Data Breach?
  4. What Should I Do If A Green Party Data Breach Occurs?
  5. What Could You Claim For A Personal Data Breach?
  6. Contact Us To Make A No Win No Fee Claim

What Could A Green Party Data Breach Be?

A personal data breach is defined as a security incident. If one were to occur your personal data could be destroyed, lost, altered, disclosed or be accessed without authorisation. To help prevent this from occurring, two pieces of legislation are in place; the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. 

Under the data protection laws:

  • More rights are given to data subjects over the processing of their data. 
  • Data controllers are held accountable should a breach occur due to their failure to adhere to the legislation. 
  • Sets out specific data breach compensation eligibility criteria.  

Article 82 of the UK GDPR sets out the criteria you must meet in order to claim compensation.  You must:

  • Prove the breach occurred because the organisation failed to comply with legislation. 
  • The data breach included your personal data or special category data. 
  • You experienced damages, either financially or mentally, due to the data breach. 

Should a Green Party data breach occur, you might have some questions. Our data breach advisors can answer your questions 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. 

How Could A Green Party Data Breach Occur?

The breaching of personal data can be accidental or deliberate. Very often, human error could lead to a data breach. Enployees of organisations, for example, could send out documents containing personal data to the wrong email address, wrong fax number or incorrect postal address. To avoid this, organisations should provide data protection training.

If data awareness training is not provided to employees, personal data could be lost or a device stolen. It is vital that data controllers, organisations that state the purpose for data collection and how this data will be processed, train staff members on the importance of data security. 

In addition, staff who have access to digitally stored personal data should have the appropriate training. A data breach could occur due to the failure to use blind carbon copy (BCC) while sending multiple emails. BCC conceals email addresses when sending multiple emails, whereas CC allows for the email addresses to be seen by other recipients. 

Cybersecurity training should also be provided. This could help avoid phishing scams. Additionally, IT systems should be updated to avoid hacking attempts. 

If you have further questions that this guide does not answer about the steps that could be taken should a Green Party data breach occur, contact our advisors for free legal advice. 

Public Body Data Security Incident Statistics 

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) was set up to help protect data security, confidentiality and integrity. As part of their role, they monitor reported data security incident trends. The graph below contains reported non-cyber security incidents in central government, local government and the political sector for the fourth quarter of the financial year 2021/22. 

Non-cyber security incidents in central government, local government and political sectors in Q4 2021/22

Non-cyber security incidents in central government, local government and political sectors in Q4 2021/22

What Data Could Be Involved In A Political Party Data Breach?

What information could a data controller hold about you, the data subject? Not all data that is processed about a data subject is protected under data protection law. In the realm of data breaches, personal data and a type of personal data that is considered to be of a sensitive nature are both protected under the UK GDPR.

Personal data is information that could be used to identify you. Additional protections are given to special category data. This is due to its sensitive nature. 

Personal data includes:

  • Name
  • Address
  • Email address
  • Phone number
  • Bank account number and sort code
  • National insurance number

Special category data includes:

Our advisors can discuss what personal data and special category data is further should you experience a data breach. 

What Should I Do If A Green Party Data Breach Occurs?

If a data breach were to occur that infringes on your data protection rights, an organisation should alert you without undue delay. Also, you should be told what personal data was included in the breach. You may need to take additional steps to protect your data, such as changing passwords. Once notified of a breach, you could ask how it occurred and what is being done to put it right. 

If you have reason to suspect your data was included in a breach, such as receiving nuisance phone calls, you could report this to the organisation you think may be responsible. If you are unsatisfied with the response or they fail to respond at all, you could report this to the ICO. The ICO cannot award you compensation, but they could decide to open up an investigation. The report that they compile could be used if you go on to have a valid personal data breach claim. 

You must submit evidence in data breach claims. This is to prove an organisation failed to comply with data protection legislation. You must also prove that the breach compromised your personal data. Communications with the organisation or the ICO could support your claim.  

If by the time you reach the end of this guide and still have unanswered questions on what you could do after a potential Green Party data breach, call our advisors. 

What Could You Claim For A Personal Data Breach?

Two heads could make up your data breach compensation. Material damage recovers your financial losses, whereas non-material damage compensates you for any emotional distress. 

Prior to the Vidal-Hall and others v. Google Inc. (2015) Court of Appeal case, you could only claim non-material damage if you claimed for financial loss. This case set a precedent however. For you, this means that you can claim for mental injuries alone, such as post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). 

Material Damage In Data Breach Claims

Under material damage, you could recover your financial losses should a data breach result in them. You will need to submit evidence of your losses, such as a bank statement. 

Non-material Damage In Data Breach Claims

If you suffer stress or anxiety due to a data breach, or an exacerbation of a pre-existing condition, you could claim non-material damage. 

To help assign value to the non-matreial damage head of your claim, legal professionals may use a document titled the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). Injuries are listed alongside compensation brackets. We’ve included examples of figures given for psychological injuries from the 16th edition, published in April 2022 below. 

Edit
Injury Severity Potential Compensation Notes
PTSD Severe (a) £59,860 to £100,670 A permanent inability to function at the same level as before the trauma in all areas of life is experienced.
PTSD Moderately severe (b) £23,150 to £59,860 A significant disability lasting into the foreseeable future is experienced. However, some recovery may be possible with the help of a professional.
PTSD Moderate (c) £8,180 to £23,150 A recovery largely takes place, however, some symptoms that are not grossly disabling may persist.
PTSD Less severe (d) £3,950 to £8,180 Virtually a full recovery is made, however, some minor symptoms may persist beyond 1-2 years.
Psychiatric damage Severe (a) £54,830 to £115,730 The ability to cope with life and in relationships is impacted. Severe psychiatric damage comes with a very poor prognosis.
Psychiatric damage Moderately severe (b) £19,070 to £54,830 Significant problems coping with life and with relationships occur, but the prognosis is more optimistic than seen in severe psychiatric damage claims.
Psychiatric damage Moderate (c) £5,860 to £19,070 Problems with life and in relationships are experienced, but the claimant experiences improvements to their mental state. The prognosis is good.
Psychiatric damage Less severe (d) £1,540 to £5,860 A period of disability occurs. It impacts day-to-day living and sleep.

To discuss how damages are awarded in data breach claims further, contact our advisors. 

Contact Us To Make A No Win No Fee Claim

Hiring a data breach solicitor should your personal data be breached could ensure that your claim is filed in full. Once a claim is settled, you cannot go back to it, even if new damages become apparent. 

You could hire a No Win No Fee solicitor for your data breach claim. They could provide their services using a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). A No Win No Fee data breach solicitor does not charge an upfront solicitors fee. A success fee will be taken from your award should your claim prove successful. Legal caps apply. You will not pay a success fee if your claim is not successful. 

If a Green Party data breach should occur and you need advice, you can get in touch with our data breach claims team. They can discuss the next steps you could take. 

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