Last Updated On 17th June 2025. Have you had personal data compromised in a breach? Was that data breached via Microsoft Teams? This guide will look at what steps you could take after a personal data breach.
We look at the data protection legislation that intends to protect your personal information. The UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) is just one of these laws.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is a body that enforces data protection legislation. We look at how they deal with data breaches.
Our advisors are available 24/7 and give free legal advice on data breach compensation claims. Why not get in touch?
- Call 0800 073 8804
- Use our live chat
- Contact us via our website
Select A Section
- What Is A Data Breach Via Microsoft Teams?
- What Personal Data Could Be Breached Via Microsoft Teams?
- How Your Personal Data May Be Breached Via An Online Platform
- A Screenshot Of My Data Was Shared Via Microsoft Teams, Can I Claim?
- What Could I Claim If My Personal Data Was Breached Via Microsoft Teams?
- How Long Could It Take To Claim Data Breach Compensation?
- Start Your Claim For A Message Service Data Breach
What Is A Data Breach Via Microsoft Teams?
A data breach involves the mishandling and misuse of information that has been provided by a data subject. Essentially, a data breach is the unlawful or accidental destruction, loss, disclosure, alteration of or access to personal information. It begins with a security incident. It can be accidental (such as through human error) or deliberate ( such as through cyberattacks).
Personal data is any information that could identify you. For example, your name or email address are examples of personal data.
What Personal Data Could Be Breached Via Microsoft Teams?
Any personal information that you have shared via an email or messaging application could be exposed in a personal data breach. This information could be about an individual or groups of people, such as customers or local residents.
It could be special category data, which is sensitive and needs extra protection. This can include any of the following:
- Political beliefs
- Racial or ethnic origin
- Philosophical or religious information
- Trade union membership
- Biometric or genetic data
Other types of non-special category data can include your full name, phone number and email address.
If you require any further advice about what to potentially do if your personal data is breached via Microsoft teams, please do not hesitate to contact us for free legal advice and guidance.
How Your Personal Data May Be Breached Via An Online Platform
A data breach via cloud-based software can happen to any individual or organisation in a number of different ways. It could be through non-cyber or cyber means, as well as through human error.
Causes and Examples
The causes and examples of how a data breach could occur include:
- Loss/destruction of data – For cases that involve human error, these can be when a staff member loses or destroys a piece of personal data. Moreover, this data could have been important to the organisation and by losing it, it could place the organisation at financial risk.
- Phishing Attacks – Clicking on unfamiliar links within emails could lead to hackers being able to access personal data and potentially hold it to ransom or sell it on.
- Unauthorised access – If files have been sent to the wrong person, either by accident or deliberately. Likewise, if that person doesn’t have the authorisation they shouldn’t have access to the data.
These are only a few examples of how a data breach can occur. Similarly, the cyber security breaches survey 2021 has an overview of the latest statistics for the types of data breaches that impacted all of the different types of business sectors and charities.
If you can prove that you’ve suffered because of data breached via Microsoft teams, why not call our team to see if you could be eligible to claim compensation?
Screenshots Of Personal Data Being Sent
The UK GDPR outlines the requirements that organisations need to follow when processing personal information. These requirements are known as principles, as they consist of:
- Accountability
- Storage limitation
- Accuracy
- Purpose limitation
- Data minimisation
- Integrity and confidentiality – security
- Lawfulness, fairness and transparency
When sending screenshots of personal information, the UK GDPR does not apply to individuals using messaging applications for their personal use. It does however apply to individuals who are acting as a sole trader or organisations who use messaging applications.
Information Being Shared With The Wrong Person
If you have shared information with an unauthorised person, either by mistake or on purpose, it can be considered as a data breach. Examples would include:
- Screenshotting personal information
- Sharing sensitive personal information
- Sharing photos identifying someone
A Screenshot Of My Data Was Shared Via Microsoft Teams, Can I Claim?
A screenshot of your personal data could be considered a data breach if it’s compromised without a lawful basis.
If you suspect that your personal data has been breached, you can contact the organisation involved. They should get back to you and inform you whether this is the case and provide details.
However, if you don’t receive a response from the organisation or the response is unsatisfactory, you could contact the ICO. You should make sure that the complaint is in as much detail as possible and describe how you believe the data breach happened.
It’s important to note that the ICO can’t compensate you for a personal data breach.
What Could I Claim If My Personal Data Was Breached Via Microsoft Teams?
If you have suffered due to a data breach, you could be considering making a compensation claim. You may be able to claim for non-material damage and material damage. These damages are calculated based on the severity of your losses as well as how you were affected.
The Judicial College provides potential guideline compensation brackets for common physical and psychological injuries. Examples of the types of mental damage you could suffer and the compensation that could be awarded are listed below. These figures are from the guidelines from the Judicial College, except for the figure in the first row.
| Types of Mental Harm | Severity | How Much? |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple Psychological Injuries and Material Damage | Severe | Up to £500,000+ |
| Psychological Damage Generally | Severe | £66,920 to £141,240 |
| Psychological Damage Generally | Moderately severe | £23,270 to £66,920 |
| Psychological Damage Generally | Moderate | £7,150 to £23,270 |
| Psychological Damage Generally | Les severe | £1,880 to £7,150 |
| Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) | Severe | £73,050 to £122,850 |
| PTSD | Moderately Severe | £28,250 to £73,050 |
| PTSD | Moderate | £9,980 to £28,250 |
| PTSD | Less severe | £4,820 to £9,980 |
Material Damage
Material damage is financial loss that may occur as a result of a personal data breach. You would have to assess what financial damages have been impacted as well as assess the future impact the breach may have on your financial information. Types of financial information that could be affected include bank details.
Non-Material Damage
Non-material damage, on the other hand, is the damages that have no financial impact on you. Instead, they focus on the psychological effects that have been inflicted on you as a result of a breach.
The psychological damages could include:
- Anxiety
- Depression
- PTSD
In order to make a claim for non-material damages, you need to be medically assessed. This assessment is to determine the severity of the psychological damages and the impact they have on your life. In addition, it will be carried out by an independent medically professional, who would make a report on their findings.
After the Court of Appeal heard Vidal-Hall and others v Google Inc (2015), the Court determined that you could claim non-material damages after a personal data breach without having suffered any financial losses. You can apply for non-material damages alone. This means that you don’t have to have suffered any financial losses in order to make a claim.
How Long Could It Take To Claim Data Breach Compensation?
If you start a Microsoft Teams data breach claim, there are a variety of factors that could influence how long it takes to settle. Each data breach is unique, as the person claiming will have a unique experience of the breach when compared to someone else.
For example, if a claimant had to move house due to their anxiety relating to the breach of their home address details, the calculation of their compensation may be more complex than in other cases.
The time frame of your case may be impacted by:
- Whether the defending party accepts liability for the breach of your data
- Whether or not your case needs to go through the court (settling a data breach claim outside of court is generally a quicker process)
- The severity of psychological harm you have suffered (if you have yet to recover, legal professionals will require time to analyse how you may be impacted in future)
- Whether you are seeking to claim for your material damage, and how many expenses you wish to claim
- The amount and nature of the evidence presented
If your data was breached via Microsoft Teams, you can contact an advisor at any time to find out if you may be able to claim compensation. There is no obligation to work with Legal Expert after enquiring, so you can get in touch with any questions you may have.
Start Your Claim For A Message Service Data Breach
Starting your claim for a message service data breach can be confusing, but it could be helpful to you to know if a No Win No Fee agreement could be available to you.
A No Win No Fee agreement is a way for claimants to fund the services of a data breach solicitor. The terms will be set out, and they will be based on the outcome of the claim. For example, if your claim is successful, then a success fee will be taken. This success fee is capped by law, so you won’t be left out of pocket. On the other hand, if your claim is unsuccessful, then you wouldn’t have to pay a success fee.
Your solicitor will discuss all of this with you, so there won’t be any surprises during the claims process.
Our advisors are available 24/7 to offer answers, advice and guidance. You can contact us about steps you could take if your data was breached via Microsoft Teams. Why not?:
- Call us on 0800 073 8804
- Use our live chat feature
- Contact us via our website
Instant Messaging Service Data Breach Resources
Here is a collection of resources that could be useful and interesting to you as well as offering more information on the claims process.
- Data has been breached what can I do?
- Wrong postage address data breach
- Data breach claim for sending a fax to the wrong person
If you have any questions or queries about what you could do if your personal data was breached via Microsoft Teams, then please don’t hesitate to contact our advisors.
Written by Welsh
Edited by Victorine
