Data Breach Via Dropbox – How Much Could I Claim?

A guide exploring what you could do after a data breach via Dropbox

This guide will explain what steps you could take following a data breach via Dropbox. Dropbox is a cloud storage service that enables users to store and share files.

Under the UK GDPR, organisations must protect the personal data they collect, store or process. If they fail to do so through wrongful conduct, and a data breach results in you suffering financially or mentally, you could claim.

If you’ve suffered because of a data breach, why not contact us today? We can provide you with free legal advice about making a valid data breach claim. Moreover, our panel of solicitors can handle your case if you have legitimate grounds to claim. They can value your claim accurately to ensure you receive the right compensation payment.

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What Is A Data Breach Via Dropbox?
How Could A Data Breach Via Dropbox Happen?
What Is Personal Data Or Information Under The UK GDPR?
How Could A Breach Of Data Protection impact you
What Compensation Can You Receive For A Data Breach Via Dropbox?
Get Help In Claiming For A Data Breach Via Dropbox

What Is A Data Breach Via Dropbox?

A data breach is a security incident that compromises personal data protection. It’s the unlawful or accidental alteration, destruction, loss, disclosure of or access to personal information.

Personal information or personal data is data that can be used to identify you. It could include your name or address, for example.

Factors such as human error or a lack of training can cause a data breach. However, some data breaches are intentional, such as data breaches caused by cyber-attacks.

Here are some examples of potential data breaches:

An email containing personal information is sent from a company to an individual who doesn’t have a lawful basis to view the personal data
Substandard online security allows hackers to access personal data
A letter containing personal data is sent to the wrong address

Data breaches can be a gross violation of one’s privacy. Therefore victims of a data breach may experience emotional distress or stress as a result. In extreme cases, a person may develop mental health problems, such as an anxiety disorder, after a data breach. Moreover, victims of a data breach may suffer financial losses. For example, fraudsters may use stolen personal data to commit fraud, leading to the loss of money or assets.

The Dropbox Data Breach

In 2012, the cloud storage service Dropbox was the target of a hacking attack. At the time, Dropbox reported that user email addresses had been stolen. However, in 2016 a dump of 68 million passwords was found online. As a security precaution, Dropbox emailed users who had not changed their passwords since 2012 asking them to do so.

Source URL: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/aug/31/dropbox-hack-passwords-68m-data-breach

How Could A Data Breach Via Dropbox Happen?

The aforementioned data breach via Dropbox happened after a Dropbox employee reused a password on another website, which was hacked. Consequently, hackers were able to gain access to Dropbox user accounts.

Here are some other causes of data breaches:

Share personal data without informed consent or another lawful basis.
An employee sending an email containing personal data to the wrong person, who isn’t authorised to access it.
An insider threat incident could happen, which means that a person within a company leaks personal data for personal or financial gain.

What Is Personal Data Or Information Under The UK GDPR?

Under the UK GDPR, personal data is information that identifies an individual. Under data privacy legislation such as the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), organisations that collect or process personal data, have a legal obligation to protect it. The Data Protection Act 2018 sits alongside the UK GDPR. Below are some examples of personal data which could be breached:

Name
Address
Date of birth
Email address
Phone number
Bank account numbers
Debit card
Credit card
Password

A data breach may also expose special category data, for example, data about one’s religious beliefs or sexual orientation. By its nature, special category data is sensitive and requires extra protection. So, if special category data is breached, this may be particularly distressing for the data breach victims.

How Could A Breach Of Data Protection Impact You?

Personal data breaches can put your personal welfare at risk. You might have suffered emotional distress if your personal data was involved in a data breach. If the incident led to traumatic events, you might have developed mental health injuries such as post-traumatic stress disorder.

Unfortunately, many people suffer financial losses after a data breach. For example, if a data breach victim’s usernames and passwords are exposed, criminals could gain access to their online accounts and steal from them. Moreover, fraudsters may use stolen personal data to target data breach victims for identity theft.

If a data breach compensation claim is successful, you can receive up to two heads of claim:

Material damages would compensate you if the data breach caused you to lose money or assets. Moreover, you could claim for expenses caused by your psychological injuries.
Non-material damages are compensation for emotional distress or psychiatric injuries caused by the data breach.

What Compensation Can You Receive For A Data Breach Via Dropbox?

The compensation table below illustrates how much you could seek in a successful claim. Please note that the table does not include material damages compensation.

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Mental Health Illness	Damages	Notes
Severe Mental Health Injury	£54,830 to £115,730	Marked problems with this person’s ability to cope with life (aspects such as relationships with friends and family, the ability to work or be in education).
Moderately Severe Mental Health Injury	£19,070 to £54,830	This person faces significant problems with the factors listed in the most severe category. The prognosis is, however, more optimistic.
Moderate Mental Health Injury	£5,860 to £19,070	Similar problems to those in the most severe category, but they will have made a marked improvement (with good future progress) by the time of a trial.
Less Severe Mental Health Injury	£1,540 to £5,860	The amount of damages awarded takes factors such as how long the disability lasted and the extent of it into account.
Severe PTSD	£59,860 to £100,670	All aspects of this person’s life may have been badly affected. They may either be prevented from working or be unable to work at the same level as pre-trauma.
Moderately Severe PTSD	£23,150 to £59,860	Distinct from the most serious cases below, there is a better prognosis for the person making some recovery if they seek professional help.
Moderate PTSD	£8,180 to £23,150	Largely this person will have recovered and any remaining effects of the illness are not grossly disabling.
Less Severe PTSD	£3,950 to £8,180	Virtually a full recovery has taken place in one to two years. Beyond this, only minor symptoms should persist.

We used guidelines from the Judicial College to create the compensation payment amounts in the table above. Solicitors use these guidelines to help them value data breach claims. However, the final amount of compensation you could receive may vary. Please feel free to call our helpline, and an advisor can give your potential case a more accurate compensation value.

Get Help In Claiming For A Data Breach Via Dropbox

For all claims they take on, our panel of solicitors offers their services under No Win No Fee agreements, which means that you will not pay a solicitor’s fee unless the claim wins.

If the claim does win, the success fee is capped by law and is a small percentage of the compensation. You’d discuss this fee with the solicitor before you agree to use their services.

Please get in touch with us now to see if you can begin your claim: