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October 19, 2020

Experts Reacted On News: British Airways Fined £20m For Data Breach
The fact that this agreed fine is a clear admission of liability from BA now cannot be ignored.
It is concerning that British Airways has been fined just £20m after a significant climb down from the ICO’s provisional intention to fine the airline £183m following their 2018 data breach. A reduction of £163m – almost 90% - means the final fine is a drop in the ocean for BA. The fact that this agreed fine is a clear admission of liability from BA now cannot be ignored. There is now no excuse in BA defending the compensation action any longer, and they must agree to compensation.....Read More
It is concerning that British Airways has been fined just £20m after a significant climb down from the ICO’s provisional intention to fine the airline £183m following their 2018 data breach. A reduction of £163m – almost 90% - means the final fine is a drop in the ocean for BA. The fact that this agreed fine is a clear admission of liability from BA now cannot be ignored. There is now no excuse in BA defending the compensation action any longer, and they must agree to compensation settlements immediately. More delays in doing the right thing serves only to further damage the BA brand following numerous scandals in recent years. The change in CEO is an opportunity for the airline to show proper leadership and get a hold of BA’s dwindling reputation. Resolving the compensation action is a key part of this. The ICO’s earlier record intention to fine was a landmark moment. It set the standard as a candid warning that is so desperately needed at a time when large scale data breaches are rampant. I am concerned that such a significant climb down undermines the GDPR and its ability to act as a credible deterrent to big business by sending the message that they can orchestrate their way out of paying substantial financial penalties. If this is to be a trend, the only real deterrent against large corporations breaching the GDPR will be the pursuit of large group action claims for compensation, like the one against British Airways. At Your Lawyers, we will not be climbing down and, whilst we understand the challenges faced by the aviation industry from COVID 19, our legal action is now even more significant in making sure that the airline is held to account.  Read Less
August 04, 2020

Legal Expert On Reduction Of BA’s Data Breach Fine
At Your Lawyers, we stand by our compensation action to hold British Airways to account.
The news that British Airways expects to pay just £20m of the initial intention to fine amount of £183m that was issued following their 2018 data breaches is an affront to data protection and the GDPR. The ICO’s decision last year to issue a record provisional intention to fine was a landmark decision that could set the standard for organisations and act as the candid warning that is so desperately needed in today’s age of continual breaches. Given the volume of breaches that have taken .....Read More
The news that British Airways expects to pay just £20m of the initial intention to fine amount of £183m that was issued following their 2018 data breaches is an affront to data protection and the GDPR. The ICO’s decision last year to issue a record provisional intention to fine was a landmark decision that could set the standard for organisations and act as the candid warning that is so desperately needed in today’s age of continual breaches. Given the volume of breaches that have taken place in recent years, it is clear to us that the importance of data protection is still not at the top of the agenda. Such a substantial reduction could seriously undermine the purpose of the GDPR, which was to act as a credible deterrent for organisations to ensure that they protect the information they store and process. At Your Lawyers, we stand by our compensation action to hold British Airways to account. They could potentially be liable for a total pay-out of up to £3 billion for victims who claim compensation for the breach, regardless of the value of the final regulatory fine. We do understand the significant issues that the aviation industry faces as a result of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, and it is extremely sad to hear that British Airways staff have suffered pay cuts and redundancies. Whilst we sympathise with BA’s predicament, fair punishment for the 2018 data breaches that left the data for almost half a million customers at risk cannot be avoided, and the first fines of the GDPR era for big breaches like this must set a proper precedent.  Read Less
June 11, 2020

Babylon Online GP Service Suffers Data Breach
Data breaches like this show that there is still much more that needs to be done to ensure we can trust in the use of such technology.
It’s extremely alarming to hear that a user of the Babylon Health app has been able to access dozens of confidential video recordings of other patients' consultations. With more than 2.3 million registered users in the UK, we are concerned that many more may have been affected with extremely private information leaked. We urge others to follow this lead and come forward, as we know from experience in helping others just how bad this kind of data breach can be. Those affected could be.....Read More
It’s extremely alarming to hear that a user of the Babylon Health app has been able to access dozens of confidential video recordings of other patients' consultations. With more than 2.3 million registered users in the UK, we are concerned that many more may have been affected with extremely private information leaked. We urge others to follow this lead and come forward, as we know from experience in helping others just how bad this kind of data breach can be. Those affected could be eligible to receive significant compensation for Babylon Health’s negligence which could result in potentially damaging emotional harm for patients. With doctors difficult to access due to coronavirus restrictions, many are relying on technological solutions like Babylon Health. Data breaches like this show that there is still much more that needs to be done to ensure we can trust in the use of such technology. Healthcare organisations can be particularly vulnerable to data breaches due to the wealth of highly sensitive information they hold, and firms operating in this sector must go the extra mile to ensure data is protected, or face the consequences.  Read Less
May 20, 2020

UK airline easyJet data breach impacts 9M customers – expert commentary
The airline could face a penalty of up to 4% of its annual worldwide turnover of the preceding financial year.
With the travel industry already facing mounting criticism as thousands of customers struggle to receive refunds in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, news that nine million EasyJet customers have had their personal information exposed is another damaging blow to the airline. Although EasyJet has said that there is no evidence any customer data has been misused, the fact that over 2,000 customers have had their credit card details exposed is disastrous. Customers could fall victim to.....Read More
With the travel industry already facing mounting criticism as thousands of customers struggle to receive refunds in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, news that nine million EasyJet customers have had their personal information exposed is another damaging blow to the airline. Although EasyJet has said that there is no evidence any customer data has been misused, the fact that over 2,000 customers have had their credit card details exposed is disastrous. Customers could fall victim to identity theft and serious financial fraud. As advised by the ICO, contacting those who may have been affected is the first step for EasyJet, but the company will have to do much more to regain their trust. In 2018, competitor airline British Airways was penalised for a data breach affecting half-a-million customers. The ICO announced its intentions to issue the airline a record-breaking fine of £183 million, which is in addition to possible compensation pay-outs for customers that could reach up to £3 billion. With EasyJet’s data breach affecting many more customers, it too could face significant fines and compensation claims. The exact size of the fine will become clear as more details are revealed. However, in accordance with the GDPR, the airline could face a penalty of up to 4% of its annual worldwide turnover of the preceding financial year. It is impossible to determine yet whether or not there has been negligence but, if so, consumers could be eligible to claim compensation, raising the financial penalty imposed on the airline significantly.  Read Less
March 03, 2020

Experts On Credit Score Builder Loqbox Hit By Data Breach
On its website, Loqbox promotes itself as having ‘bank-level security’.
News that LoqBox’s customer data has been compromised by a cyberattack is the latest in a long list of businesses that have unfortunately had their online security systems breached. Although a relatively small player, LoqBox works in partnership with banks such as Natwest, TSB and Monzo. Customers from these banks who use LoqBox may have had their data stolen. Cybercriminals have been able to use sophisticated tactics to gain access to their personal data including name, postal address,.....Read More
News that LoqBox’s customer data has been compromised by a cyberattack is the latest in a long list of businesses that have unfortunately had their online security systems breached. Although a relatively small player, LoqBox works in partnership with banks such as Natwest, TSB and Monzo. Customers from these banks who use LoqBox may have had their data stolen. Cybercriminals have been able to use sophisticated tactics to gain access to their personal data including name, postal address, date of birth, email address and card payment information. The breach may only be the tip of the iceberg, as cybercriminals could use it in future phishing scams to secure even more sensitive information. All organizations need to understand that if they store data then they are a target for cybercriminals. Businesses that handle banking data are even more at risk and need to realize that these criminals will use a huge array of different tactics and go to great lengths to gain access to this valuable data. On its website, Loqbox promotes itself as having ‘bank-level security’. However, it’s clear that even this isn’t strong enough to stop hackers accessing data and now Loqbox and the banks must face up to their responsibilities to protect consumers.  Read Less