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Staffordshire University Data Breach Compensation Claims Guide – How Much Compensation Can I Claim? – Amounts For Staffordshire University Data Breach

Within this guide, it shall discuss the concept of data breach claim against Staffordshire University. You will learn about many of the ways that a data breach could happen. And how this could lead to data loss or the breach of personal data. We will show you how you could be eligible to claim compensation if your private data is exposed without authorisation.

Staffordshire University data breach claims guide

Staffordshire University data breach claims guide

Your data breach compensation claim will have its own unique aspects. No two claims are entirely the same, although there are similarities between claims. Because your claim is based on its own set of circumstances, we might not cover every question you have in this guide.

If this is the case, we can still help you. Our claims team works 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can call them on 0800 073 8804. When you do, an advisor will answer all of your additional questions. They can also explain how as part of the service we offer, we can provide you with a specialist solicitor to process your claim.

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A Guide On Data Breach Claim Against Staffordshire University

This guide is going to give you a firm grounding in the basics of making a compensation claim for a privacy violation. If you are a potential victim of a data breach by Staffordshire University this guide may answer some of your questions. This guide has two main parts. In the first part, we cover information related to data breaches. What a data breach is, and how it could be caused. We look at how a data breach might affect you, and what it could take to recover from one. Several sections cover rules and regulations related to data privacy in the UK. Along with information about the rights that these give you. You will find some information related to cyberattacks on personal information collected by universities, including some key statistics.

The second part of this guide is claim related. Giving information about the process of making a claim, and how a solicitor can assist you. We give a summary of why you may be in a position to make a claim. Followed by an explanation of the types of damages you could be able to pursue. You will find an example compensation table. It shows how the level of compensation that could be awarded for any mental anguish you have felt, will be driven by how severe your symptoms are. Finally, we explain how we can help you to move your claim forward. Including information about making a claim using a No Win No Fee type service. The benefits of doing so, and how the fee is structured.

Claim Time Limits Explained

You must start your claim within the appropriate time limit. It does not matter how long it takes to complete your claim after that. The time limit could be:

  • 6-years
  • 1-year if human rights are involved.

In some rare cases, these time limits can change. You can call and talk to our claims team to find out which will apply.

Get More Help And Advice

If you need information about making a claim for a potential Staffordshire University data breach or you have questions not covered in this guide our claims team is here to help you. You will find the contact telephone number at the bottom of this page. Our claims line is open 24/7, 7 days a week. So call anytime you wish.

What Is A University Data Breach Claim?

We share our private and financial data with many organisations. Our bank and credit card companies, the National Health Service (NHS), or our local council, for example. And of course, the schools, colleges and universities we attend. Every organisation is expected to keep your private data secure and use it in an ethical manner. This is a legal obligation.

However, despite best efforts, there could still be data breaches. And this guide will look at your right to claim in such circumstances.

What Is A Data Breach?

In order to make a successful data breach claim, it must be proven with evidence that your personal data was breached because those who were supposed to keep it safe failed to secure it correctly. Staffordshire University has to comply with UK-General Data Protection Regulations and the Data Protection Act 2018. This is to ensure your data is safe at all times. These new laws and rules also ensure that personal data is used in the right way. The way we want it to be used.

In such cases, if you can prove that a university failed in its responsibility to keep your data safe, you could potentially be able to make a compensation claim. You can talk to our team to learn how to do this.

How Can A Data Breach Happen?

There are two primary ways that a data breach can happen. Firstly, a university could be the cause of the data breach. Exposing your data by accident. For example, sending an email with your personal information to another student by accident. Secondly, a university could be the victim of a cyberattack, that exposed your data. In both cases, a university could be liable for damages if it is proven that it breached GDPR rules. As, failing to keep your personal data secure from a cyberattack could potentially be a breach of GDPR. So below, we have included some examples of how your personal information may be breached:

  • A lost or stolen laptop that had your data stored on it.
  • Letting unauthorised third party access your data.
  • A member of an organisation emailing your private data to somebody who was not authorised to have it.
  • Changing your private data in some way, without your permission.
  • A staff member deliberately publishing your private data.
  • Throwing away a storage device that contained your data, without completely wiping it first.

Cyber-Attacks

Those who store personal data on computer systems must ensure that the information cannot be accessed through a cyber attack. Types of cyber-attacks include:

  • A drive-by attack – unintentional download of malware.
  • Man in the middle attacks – when an attacker infiltrates communication between others.
  • SQL injection attacks – allows an attacker to access and change data.
  • Phishing attacks – that try to get victims to divulge login information.
  • Password hacking attacks – that use brute force methods, or a list of common passwords to try and get access to a computer system.
  • Eavesdropping attacks – theft of information when in transit.

A Data Breach Can Have Serious Consequences

When it comes to cybersecurity, and the impact of a breach of your private data, let us look at the possible types of data that could be exposed.

  • Email address.
  • Telephone number.
  • Postal address.
  • Passport number and dates.
  • Driving licence number.
  • Your picture.
  • Bank account numbers and sort codes.
  • Credit/debit card numbers, expiry dates and CVV codes.
  • Your National Insurance number.

If all of this data is accessed by a cybercriminal, they could potentially steal your identity. They would be able to:

  • Access your bank account.
  • Use your cards to make purchases.
  • Take out loans or hire purchase agreements.
  • Drive a vehicle under your name.
  • Apply for jobs.

And the list could go on. The cybercriminal would basically be you in digital form. This could cause you a very high level of financial loss.

How To Recover From A Data Breach

Recovering from a cyberattack that exposed your private data, could mean taking actions such as:

  • Having your credit cards reissued.
  • Changing bank accounts.
  • Changing passwords
  • Tracking down financial transactions made in your name.

As you can well imagine, dealing with a serious breach of your private data could be a very stressful and traumatic experience. Later in this guide, you will see how you could potentially claim for this psychological harm.

How Universities Need To Adapt To The GDPR

The main body of legislation related to data security in the UK, is UK-GDPR. Before Brexit happened, UK organisations had to comply with the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) applicable to members of the European Union (EU). When the UK left the EU, lawmakers used the EU version of GDPR as a basis for UK–GDPR. And the Data Protection Act 2018 was enacted.

Every data controller has to comply with all of these rules and regulations at all times. The aim of this legislation is to ensure that your private data is used correctly. If compliance fails, a data breach could occur. And in a case where your private data is put at risk in such a data breach, a claim might be possible.

Compliance is monitored by the Information Commissioners Office (ICO). A non-departmental body that has the power to take punitive action against any organisation that exposes your private data.

For information about what a valid data breach claim against Staffordshire University may look like please give our claims team a call today.

GDPR And Your Rights

Part of UK-GDPR, outlines a number of principles. Data subjects also have a set of rights under data protection. They are able to control how your private data is used by a university. Your rights under data protection include:

  • Your right to object – and make a complaint to the ICO if you think a university has put your private data at risk.
  • A right to portability – if you request to see the data that a university has of yours, it must be sent to you in a readable format.
  • Your right to restrict usage – You can restrict processing in certain circumstances.
  • A right to be forgotten – again in certain circumstances.
  • Your right to correction – so that you can make sure that there are no errors in your private data, and have them corrected if there are.
  • A right to access – you must be given access to your private data if you ask.
  • Your right to be informed – how data is collected and used.

Something to keep in mind, is that failing to allow you to exercise these rights in certain circumstances could be a breach of the GDPR.

Examples Of Personal Information Breaches In Higher Education

In the past, there has been a serious breach of data privacy with information collected by universities. The most high-profile example of recent years, is the Blackbaud attack. Blackbaud is a company that provides technology services to universities and other educational establishments. A third party technology provider. In 2020, Blackbaud was the victim of a data breach that affected organisations. Including several universities.

Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-54370568

Data Protection Breach Statistics

According to the cybersecurity breaches survey published on the Government website, it found the following;

  • 39% of Businesses had suffered some type of cyberattack or security breach in the past 12 months.
  • Fewer businesses are applying security tools just 35% compared to 40% last year.
  • For those businesses that have experienced breaches or cyberattacks, about a quarter of them experience one at least once a week.

Cybersecurity And Data Privacy Breach Claims

So, to sum things up, there are three reasons why you might need to make a data breach claim against a university. And these are:

  1. A representative of a university exposed your personal data by accident, or on purpose.
  2. A cybercriminal gained access to your private data due to lax cybersecurity on the part of a university.
  3. Files containing your personal information were stolen or left unattended and exposed to others.

Although it is not an obligation to have a data breach lawyer or data breach solicitor support your case they can bring with them many benefits. Apart from exercising and having knowledge of the law, they will also know exactly what evidence you will need to prove your case. Call our claim advisors today for free. If they can see your case is valid then they will have a specialist work on your claim right away.

What Data Breach Distress Compensation Could Be Awarded

An important case that was heard at the Court of Appeal; Vidal Hall V Google Inc means the way data breach claims are managed and how compensation is awarded has altered. You could be able to claim for psychological harm even if you have not suffered financially due to a data breach. Such as post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety or depression.

There could also be financial reasons for making a claim. There will be direct costs, such as paying for a new passport, or the postage involved in applying for a new driving licence for example. And then there could be financial losses caused by a cybercriminal. Such as money taken from your bank account or savings, and purchases made on your credit card. In some cases, the bank or card company might shoulder the loss themselves. But this is far from being 100% certainty. If you lost out financially in this way, you could be able to claim this loss back as part of a successful compensation settlement.

Calculating Compensation For Data Breaches At Staffordshire University

When making a data breach claim you could potentially be eligible for two types of losses. These include; material damages and non-material damages. Material damages cover the financial losses you have experienced. Whereas non-material damages look at the effects the data breach has had on your health. Part of that settlement could be for psychological harm. The example table below shows how the severity of this harm will directly affect the amount of compensation you receive. The Judicial College publishes guidelines in England that this table was based on.

Edit
Problem Condition Level of Severity Extra Information Possible Damages
Psychological damage Severe A bracket covering severe mental problems, probably caused by repeatedly being exposed to trauma. This would result in serious long-term negative effects on the victim’s life. Potentially permanently to one extent or another, despite long-term treatment. £51,460 to £108,620
Psychological damage Moderate to severe A bracket covering moderate to severe mental problems, likely caused by being exposed to a single traumatic event. The symptoms would have a significant effect on the victim’s life in the long term but maybe treated fully after an extended period of therapy. £17,900 to £51,460
Psychological damage Moderate A bracket covering significant problems to begin with but prognosis would be good. £5,500 to £17,900
Psychological damage Less severe A bracket covering considerable length of disability. Travel anxiety and phobias are covered here. £1,440 to £5,500

We can organise a solicitor to value your claim more accurately for you. Just call our team and tell them what you need, they will help you further.

How Our Team Could Help You

Our team of expert data privacy breach claim advisors can help you to establish if you have a valid data breach claim against a university. They can provide free legal advice and assess your chances of being awarded compensation all in a free no-obligation consultation.

Our team is always on hand to update you on what they have been doing for you, and how your claim is progressing. We do this without using legal jargon, so that you always understand how we are helping you.

Making A Data Breach Claim Against Staffordshire University With A No Win No Fee Agreement

You might have come across the term No Win No Fee before, and have a general idea of what it means. A No Win No Fee agreement is a contract between you and your solicitor that sets out the terms in which they are paid for their service. No Win No Fee Agreements can also be known as a Conditional Fee Agreement. Meaning a solicitor’s fees are conditional on your claim winning. Your contract should state :

  • You won’t be asked to pay a fee for a lawyer to begin working on your claim.
  • While the claim is being processed, your solicitor won’t as to be paid any fees. Even if it takes months to process the claim to its resolution.
  • If you don’t win your claim, your solicitor isn’t going to expect to be paid their fees.

On the other hand, if you do win your claim your solicitor is likely to expect you to pay a modest success fee. And this fee is limited in amount. Your solicitor will have received a compensation payment for you by this time, and the fee can be collected out of this.

Talk To A Solicitor About Your Case

Thank you for reading our guide examining how to prove a valid data breach claim against Staffordshire University? If you need more advice then we can help. Please contact our claims team on 0800 073 8804. A claims advisor will talk over your claim with you, let you know what legal options you have, and help you to get your claim started.

Related Data Protection Breach Guides

These other guides are related to this one, you might like to check them out.

At these links, you will find some useful additional info.

Written By Wheelers

Edited By Melissa.

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    • Patrick Mallon legal expert author

      Patrick is a Grade A solicitor having qualified in 2005. He's an an expert in accident at work and public liability claims and is currently our head of the EL/PL department. Get in touch today for free to see how we can help you.

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