Data Breach Via Microsoft Teams – How Much Could I Claim?

Have you been impacted by a data breach via Microsoft Teams? Did your personal information get compromised in a harmful way to you? In this guide, we look at what steps you could take to be compensated after a data breach involving your personal data.

data breach via Microsoft Teams

A guide on what you could do after a data breach via Microsoft Teams

The Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) are examples of data protection legislation that protect our personal information.

If an employer or colleague fails to take due care with the personal data of others and breaches these laws, the company in question can suffer a penalty from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). This independent organisation protects the data rights of individuals but does not pay compensation, so we explain how you could seek and calculate damages yourself. Simply:

  • Call our advisors in confidence on 0203 870 4868
  • Contact us via our website
  • Use our live chat for instant responses

Select A Section

  1. What Counts As A Data Breach Via Microsoft Teams?
  2. How Do I Know If I Am Eligible To Make A Data Breach Claim?
  3. How Long Do You Have To Begin A Claim For Damages?
  4. What Personal Data Does The UK GDPR Apply To?
  5. What Could You Claim For A Data Breach Via Microsoft Teams?
  6. How To Start Your Claim For A Data Breach Via Microsoft Teams

What Counts As A Data Breach Via Microsoft Teams?

The ICO describe personal data as anything that could be used to identify you as a distinct and separate person. This could include your name, address or more sensitive information such as your ethnicity.

A personal data breach is the accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, disclosure of or access to personal information after a breach of security. It can be accidental or deliberate.

How Common Are Data Breaches?

Data breaches aren’t uncommon across all industries and the statistics below from the Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2022 give a snapshot of the extent of the problem.

How Do I Know If I Am Eligible To Make A Data Breach Claim?

To be eligible to make a data breach claim you need to establish that:

  • The organisation that collected, held or processed your personal data failed to protect it through wrongful conduct. For example, they have substandard online security, which leads to a cyberattack in which your personal data is accessed.
  • Your personal information was involved in the data breach.
  • You suffered psychological harm or financial loss (or both) as a result.

The first you may be aware of a data breach could be long after it happened, so the first step is to track back to where you think the initial breach occurred. You should raise a concern with the organisation. If you have no response or an unsatisfactory response, you could contact the ICO no later than 3 months after the organisation’s last meaningful contact on the matter.

The ICO can’t provide compensation, but you could seek this through a valid data breach claim.

How Long Do You Have To Begin A Claim For Damages?

There is a 6-year time limit for starting a data breach compensation claim. This timescale can be 1 year if the claim needs to be made against a public body. Speak to our team if you are unsure of how long you may have left to claim.

What Personal Data Does The UK GDPR Apply To?

There are some general ‘identifiers’ that are commonly used in a whole array of professional and personal online arenas:

  • Name and address
  • Date and place of birth
  • Email address
  • Social media contact details
  • Philosophical or political beliefs
  • IP addresses
  • Account handles
  • Racial and ethnic information
  • Sexual orientation

UK GDPR acknowledges them as identifiers and, therefore, includes them under the remit of the law for proper handling.

What Could Be The Impact Of A Data Breach On You?

Has another party caused a data breach via Microsoft teams by sharing personal information with those that have no authority to access it? It’s quite possible to suffer a profound level of distress and mental harm because of this.

This in turn could disrupt your sleep or home life, creating other problems that further impact your life. Anxiety and stress because of the data breach could prevent you from experiencing life as you enjoyed it before the incident.

As well as this, your finances could suffer. You could experience a loss of earnings if you had to take time off because you were suffering, or fraud and identity theft can result from a data breach.

What Could You Claim For A Data Breach Via Microsoft Teams?

It is possible to claim two types of compensation. They reflect both the emotional and financial damage. Non-material damage is the emotional or mental harm you suffer because of a data breach. The compensation for this can be based on the results of your medical report following an independent assessment, which a data breach solicitor can help arrange for you.

A case called Vidal-Hall v Google found that emotional suffering should attract compensation in its own right if someone is making a valid data breach claim. Prior to this case, it was necessary to show financial harm as well.

This enables the use of a personal injury assessment tool such as the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to calculate a request. The JCG is a document solicitors use when valuing injuries. You can see a list of injuries from the 2022 publication below.

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Type of Psychiatric Damage Level of JC Guideline Award Supporting Notes
Psychiatric Damage (General) (A) Severe – £54,830 to £115,730 A very poor prognosis and marked emotional and coping problems.
Psychiatric Damage (General) (B) Moderately Severe £19,070 to £54,830 A better prognosis but still significant issues with work, family life or personal relationships.
Psychiatric Damage (General) (C) Moderate – £5,860 to £19,070 Problems of a lesser degree than the categories above with improvement by time of trial.
Psychiatric Damage (General) (D) Less Severe – Up to £5,860 Awards reflect the extent of impact on factors such as sleep and work.
Anxiety Disorder (PTSD) (A) Severe – £59,860 to £100,670 Permanent damaging impacts that leave the person too traumatised to function as before.
Anxiety Disorder (PTSD) (B) Moderately Severe -£23,150 to £59,860 Still acute impact but some receptivity to treatment
Anxiety Disorder (PTSD) (C) Moderate – £8,180 to £23,150 Largely recovered with no grossly disabling effects.
Anxiety Disorder (PTSD) (D) Less Severe – Up to £8,180 More or less a full recovery within 2 years – very minor persisting symptoms.

Material damage is the financial loss you suffer because of a personal data breach. For example, your credit card details may be accessed and used to steal money.

You could claim material damage and non-material damage or both. Speak with our advisors if you have a valid claim and they can explain what bills, receipts, or statements you can use to bolster your compensation claim.

How To Start Your Claim For A Data Breach Via Microsoft Teams

If you feel daunted at the prospect of making a data breach claim, a solicitor can help. At UK Law, we could connect you with a member of our panel of specialists who could take up your case on a No Win No Fee basis. There are distinct advantages to legal representation like this:

  • There is no requirement to pay the solicitor’s fee upfront or as the case progresses.
  • If the case is unsuccessful, you don’t have to pay the solicitor’s fee.
  • If the claim wins, the solicitor would take a percentage of the compensation. This is called a ‘success fee’ and is capped by law. You and your solicitor can agree on the percentage beforehand.

Interested in learning more about what you could do is a third party caused a data breach via Microsoft Teams? Please:

  • Call our advisors in confidence on 0203 870 4868
  • Contact us via our website
  • Use our live chat for instant responses

Data Breach Resources

More help is available below:

If a third party caused a data breach via Microsoft Teams and you suffered because of it, why not get in touch?

Writer FE

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