Should there ever be a Barclays Bank data breach, you may wonder what this would mean for your personal data. This guide will discuss what personal data could be exposed in a bank data breach.
Barclays Bank Data Breach – Could I Make A Data Breach Claim?
We examine the legislation governing data protection for UK residents. Additionally, this guide will discuss the obligations for keeping personal data safe. We shall Illustrate examples of personal data and special category data that banks may hold and the differences between them.
To conclude this guide, we examine No Win No Fee arrangements. Should you choose to pursue a compensation claim following a personal data breach, you may find the guidance of a No Win No Fee solicitor to be beneficial.
To gain more understanding of whether you could make a personal data breach claim, contact our team. They’re available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for free legal advice, and can tell you more about how our solicitors could help you.
To speak to our claims team:
- Contact us
- Speak to an advisor through the online chat
- Call 0800 073 8801
Select A Section
- What Could Be Meant By A Barclays Bank Data Breach?
- What Is The Most Common Form Of Data Breach?
- What Are The Eligibility Criteria To Claim Should A Barclays Bank Data Breach Occur?
- If A Barclays Bank Data Breach Occurs, Are There Steps I Need To Take?
- How Much Could I Claim For A Personal Data Breach?
- Starting A Claim For A Bank Data Breach
What Could Be Meant By A Barclays Bank Data Breach?
A personal data breach is a security incident that affects your personal data. This could mean personal data is accessed without authorisation, disclosed, altered, stolen, lost or destroyed. This could happen either unlawfully or accidentally.
Two key pieces of legislation govern data protection for UK residents; the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA).
These pieces of legislation provide rules and regulations for data controllers and processors. A controller is typically an organisation deciding what data is processed and for what purpose, whereas processors can act on the controller’s behalf.
Our advisors can answer your questions if a Barclays Bank data breach were to ever occur and it involved your personal data being at risk.
What Is The Most Common Form Of Data Breach?
Human error is the leading cause of data breaches. Although data breaches can happen due to cyber attacks such as online criminals hacking into an organisation’s online database, human error or accidental data breaches seem to happen at a higher rate.
Huma errors that lead to data breaches can range from leaving paperwork containing personal data in an insecure location to sending an email to multiple email addresses without using the blind carbon copy (BCC) feature. BCC conceals email addresses from other recipients.
It is vital that employers who have staff with data access provide adequate data awareness training in data protection compliance. This should include data that is kept online or physical files containing personal data. Additionally, staff could also receive cybersecurity training.
In addition, banks should ensure that their IT systems are kept up to date. This could avoid cybersecurity incidents, such as hackers gaining access to personal data.
If a bank data breach were to occur, lots of protected data could be exposed. This includes personal data, such as names, addresses, email addresses, contact numbers, and bank card information.
Banks may also hold special category data. The legislation gives special category data additional protections due to its sensitive nature. It could include biometric information, Trade Union membership and sexuality.
Our advisors can provide free legal advice should a Barclays Bank data breach occur and compromises your personal data.
Financial, Credit and Insurance Sectors Data Security Incident Statistics
The Information Commissioners’ Office (ICO) is an independent body set up to enforce data protection laws. As part of their role, they monitor data security incident trends. The graph below contains reported non-cyber incidents for the finance, insurance and credit sectors during the fourth quarter of the 2021/22 financial year.
According to these statistics, the most common data security incident in the finance, insurance and credit sectors was emailing personal data to the wrong recipient, with 35 incidents.
Reported non-cyber incidents in the finance, insurance and credit sectors, Q4 financial 2021/22
What Are The Eligibility Criteria To Claim Should A Barclays Bank Data Breach Occur?
Data subjects who are harmed by a data breach do not automatically become eligible to make a data breach claim. If a data controller or processor has done exactly what the law expects of them but suffers a data breach anyway, then making a claim is very unlikely.
Article 82 of the UK GDPR sets out the specific data breach compensation eligibility. The legislation dictates that you must:
- Prove that the data controller or processor did not adhere to data protection legislation, resulting in a data breach.
- Your personal data was compromised because of the breach. This could be general personal data, like your name, phone number, or home address. Or, it could be special category data, such as your biometric data. This kind of personal data requires special protection under data breach law.
- You suffered harm. This could be financially or a mental injury.
You have six years to start a personal data breach claim. However, this reduces to one year if your claim is against a public body. Contact our advisors to learn more.
If A Barclays Bank Data Breach Occurs, Are There Steps I Need To Take?
If a personal data breach could infringe on your rights or freedoms, the organisation responsible should inform you without undue delay. They should also tell you what information was included so you can take appropriate steps to protect yourself, such as changing passwords.
If you suspect a personal data breach, you can make a complaint to the organisation. Following this, if they do not respond or their response is not satisfactory, you can complain to the ICO. Communications about the breach could be submitted as evidence.
Finally, we recommend that you seek legal advice if you have suffered due to a personal data breach that was caused because data protection legislation was not adhered to. Our advisors are available 24/7 to provide free legal advice and further help surrounding your claim.
How Much Could I Claim For A Personal Data Breach?
There are two heads of compensation in a personal data breach claim. These heads are material damage and non-material damage.
- Material damage: Under this head, any financial damage caused by the breach could be recovered.
- Non-material damage: If the data breach causes a psychological injury, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), non-material damage compensation will be awarded.
To help assign value to your mental injury, legal professionals will use a document called the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). It provides compensation brackets for different levels of injury.
| Injury | Severity | Potential Compensation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| PTSD | Severe (a) | £59,860 to £100,670 | The symptoms impact all areas of life badly resulting in a permanent inability to function at the same levels as seen before the trauma. |
| PTSD | Moderately severe (b) | £23,150 to £59,860 | Significant disability from the symptoms occurs. This lasts into the foreseeable future. However, some recovery is possibly, with the assistance of a professional. |
| PTSD | Moderate (c) | £8,180 to £23,150 | A recovery largely takes place, but some symptoms may remain. They are not all too disabling. |
| PTSD | Less severe (d) | £3,950 to £8,180 | Virtually a full recovery takes place. Some symptoms, that are minor in nature, may linger. |
| Mental suffering | Severe (a) | £54,830 to £115,730 | The severity of the mental injury impacts the claimant’s ability to cope with life and relationships. It comes with a very poor prognosis. |
| Mental suffering | Moderately severe (b) | £19,070 to £54,830 | There’s a more optimistic prognosis than seen in more severe mental suffering, however, the injury causes significant problems in the claimant’s life and relationships. |
| Mental suffering | Moderate (c) | £5,860 to £19,070 | Improvements in the claimant’s mental state occur, but the injury has caused problems with their life and relationships. |
| Mental suffering | Less severe (d) | £1,540 to £5,860 | The claimant experiences a period of disability. This impacts their daily life and sleep. |
In the past, in order to claim non-material damage as part of data breach compensation, you also had to claim material damage. However, since the Vidal Hall and others v. Google Inc. (2015) Court of Appeal case, you can now claim for mental health injuries alone.
To learn more, contact our advisors.
Starting A Claim For A Bank Data Breach
Data breach law can be complex, and starting a claim can seem daunting. However, a No Win No Fee solicitor can help guide you through your claim. Our No Win No Fee solicitors offer their services using a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) for your data breach claim.
Under a CFA, a solicitor will provide legal representation and advice without asking for an upfront fee or ongoing fees. If your claim is a success, a success fee will be paid. This fee is taken from your compensation, but there is a legal cap, ensuring you get the most of your final sum. However, if your claim does not succeed, you will not pay this fee.
To speak to a member of the team:
- Contact us
- Speak to an advisor through the online chat
- Call 0800 073 8801
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Further information about data breaches: