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

What Are My Rights If Ravensbourne University Breached My Data Privacy?

By Edward Robinson. Last Updated 2nd February 2021. Whether you’re a student, member of staff or alumni of Ravensbourne University London, the organisation is likely to have collected at least some of your personal data. It is their legal obligation to protect the personal data they collect, process and store. After all, a Ravensbourne University London data breach could cause you harm, either emotionally, through stress and anxiety, or financially. If you can prove that they failed to protect the security of data relating to students, staff or alumni, and this has caused you harm, you could make a data breach compensation claim against Ravensbourne University London, and here at Legal Expert, we could help you.

Ravensbourne University London data breach claims guide

Ravensbourne University London data breach claims guide

In the sections below, you will find a wealth of useful information about making a claim for a data protection breach. We explain what personal data could include, how it could be breached, and how this could breach data protection law.

We also include information about how compensation payouts of this kind could be calculated, and how a Legal Expert lawyer could help you fight for compensation on a No Win No Fee basis.

If you’re already ready to begin a data breach claim against Ravensbourne University London, or you have questions, you can call us for free at any time on 0800 073 8804.

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A Guide To Data Breach Claims Against Ravensbourne University London

If you’re considering making a data breach claim against Ravensbourne University London, this may be because your personal data has been breached and you’ve suffered psychologically or financially because of it.

This guide aims to explain all you need to know about making a claim for an ICO data protection breach. Below, you will find a detailed explanation of what constitutes personal data and how a breach of data protection could lead to a data breach claim against a university. We also discuss the types of cybersecurity issues universities could come up against and offer some insight into previous data breaches that have affected other universities. In addition to this, we explain the laws that universities must adhere to, and how to calculate compensation for a data breach claim.

We hope you find this guide useful. If you’d like to learn more about starting a claim, or you’d like us to check your eligibility, or provide you with a lawyer to help you begin a claim, please do not hesitate to contact us. You can find our contact details at the bottom of this guide, as well as further resources to help you.

What Is A Breach Of Data Protection At Ravensbourne University?

Before we explain what could cause a person to make a data breach claim against Ravensbourne University London, we should first define what personal data is. The UK data protection regulator, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), states that personal data is:

  • Data that could, on its own, identify a natural living person
  • Data that could, in combination with other data, identify a natural living person

Some examples of such personal data could include:

  • Your title, first name and surname
  • Your location details
  • Your contact information
  • Your e-mail address
  • Your IP address
  • Your student or staff ID number

If you would like to know what data a university has on you, you could follow the subject access request protocol, which you can find here.

What Is Sensitive Data?

There is some information that could be considered to be more sensitive. Sensitive data should be afforded a higher level of protection. Information that could be classed as sensitive could include:

  • Your religion/beliefs
  • Your political opinions
  • Your race
  • Your medical information
  • Your biometric data
  • Your sexual orientation

What Is A Data Breach?

According to the Information Commissioner’s Office, data breaches are data security incidents that lead to personal data becoming:

  • Lost
  • Stolen
  • Corrupted
  • Altered
  • Destroyed
  • Disclosed
  • Accessed
  • Transmitted
  • Made unavailable

Data breaches could happen due to actions, errors or negligence within the organisation, or outside of it.

How Can Personal Data Breaches Happen?

There are a huge number of different ways in which a person’s personal data could be breached. It could happen due to:

  • A ransomware attack
  • A Denial of Service Attack (DDoS
  • Lack of proper computer security or network security
  • Negligent maintenance of a firewall
  • Malware
  • A virus
  • Loss or theft of computer equipment
  • E-mails containing personal information going awry
  • Phishing
  • Hacking
  • Physical disclosures

How Could I Be Affected By A Data Breach?

Data protection laws allow victims who have suffered material or non-material harm due to a data breach to claim compensation for such harm. A data breach claim against Ravensbourne University London could therefore be launched if you can prove you’ve suffered:

  • Financially – This could be because someone has managed to access your financial accounts because of a breach, and they have stolen funds from you. They could also potentially have made purchases using your details.
  • Via Identity Theft – If someone has your personal information, they could potentially attempt to steal your identity and use it to apply for credit in your name.
  • Psychologically – Being the victim of a data breach could cause you to experience stress, anxiety or depression. You may feel that you have suffered a privacy violation, and this could affect you mentally too.

Infringements Of The GDPR At Universities

GDPR, or the General Data Protection Regulation, is the strictest and most wide-reaching law in the world affecting the privacy and security of data. The UK has implemented GDPR into UK law through the Data Protection Act 2018.

What Constitutes A Breach Of GDPR?

There are some guiding principles of GDPR that organisations must adhere to. Requirements include:

  • Data must be kept securely
  • Data that has been collected must only be stored for as long as it is necessary for the specified purpose
  • Data must be processed in a way that is fair and lawful
  • Data must be processed in a way that is not excessive, adequate and relevant
  • Data must be collected legitimately, and it must be specified and explicit
  • Data must be kept updated to ensure accuracy

In article 82 of the GDPR, an organisation that conducts data processing can be held liable for damage caused by a breach of GDPR. This includes distress as well as financial damage. If you can prove you’ve been affected by such a breach, we could help you make a data breach claim against Ravensbourne University London to get the compensation you deserve.

Examples Of How A University May Breach Data Protection Obligations

While there are no Ravensbourne University cybersecurity incidents listed on the ICO website at the time of posting, this does not mean that data breaches could not affect universities. Some examples of a breach of data privacy by a university could include:

  • The University Of East Anglia in 2017 – This university paid compensation to a member of staff after administration errors caused sensitive information to be sent to almost 300 people. Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-41934027
  • The University of Greenwich in 2018 – This university was fined £120,000 by the Information Commissioner’s Office when a microsite containing personal information relating to nearly 20,000 people was left unsecured online.
  • The Blackbaud hack in 2020 – A database service provider that serviced several UK universities was subject to a ransomware attack, where personal data was stolen. The company paid a ransom for the destruction of the stolen data. Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-53528329

No matter whether a security incident was malicious or happened due to errors or negligence, you could still make a data breach claim against Ravensbourne University if a data breach has caused harm to you.

What Percentage Of Universities Have Suffered Data Breaches?

While you may think that your university has a strict university data protection policy in place, you may not be aware of how many universities have reported a breach of data privacy to the ICO recently. A report by IT Governance recently revealed that:

  • 54% of universities that responded to a freedom of information request had made data breach reports to the ICO in 2019
  • 46% of staff at respondent universities had not received security training
  • Only 51% of students at respondent universities had received security training

Many respondents admitted serious shortcomings in their ability to sufficiently protect their data security.

Source: https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/over-half-of-universities-suffered/

Criminal Thefts Of Data And Cyber Attacks

Every part of Ravensbourne University London’s data storage and processing systems should be protected from common risks from cybercriminals, including the Ravensbourne Intranet and Ravensbourne Student Union data. Common risks could include:

  • Phishing attacks – according to Redscan, such attacks are one of the most popular tactics used by cybercriminals (Source: Redscan report, The state of cybersecurity across UK universities)
  • Ransomware attacks – such as the Blackbaud hack
  • Spyware – This could be used to gather personal data from the intranet at Ravensbourne University London
  • Hacking – Whether the university uses the cloud or physical servers, they could be at risk of hacks
  • Theft of information – Stolen information could be valuable if it falls into the wrong hands. This relates not only to personal information but research information too. According to the NCSC (National Cyber Security Centre) organisations conducting vaccine research for coronavirus were targeted in 2020 by Russian Spies. Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-53429506

Can I Claim For Non-Malicious Data Breaches?

Whether a data breach was caused by cybercriminal activity, as per the examples above, or it was caused by an error or negligence, you could make a data breach claim against Ravensbourne University London if you can prove the harm the breach has caused you. For a free eligibility assessment, please don’t hesitate to call our team.

What Compensation Could I Have The Right To Claim?

If you’re making a data breach claim against Ravensbourne University London, you may be doing so because you have suffered non-material or material damage. Material damage relates to financial expense caused by a breach. This could include purchases made in your name or funds stolen from you for example. However, you could also claim for non-material damage relating to a privacy violation and the emotional harm caused by a breach.

Case Law – Vidal-Hall and others v Google Inc [2015] – Court of Appeal

A legal precedent was set when it comes to claiming for psychological harm caused by a data breach back in 2015. In the case referenced above, the matter of psychological harm caused by a data breach was discussed, and it was decided that compensation for such injuries could be considered.

Calculating Settlements For A Data Breach Claim Against Ravensbourne University London

When you make a data breach claim against Ravensbourne University London, all the evidence would need to be assessed to work out how much compensation could be appropriate. When it comes to calculating the quantifiable financial expenses caused by the data breach, this could be done by looking at financial documents such as credit card bills or bank statements.

However, when claiming psychological injury compensation, you would require different evidence to work out how much could be appropriate for your claim. You would need to go and see an independent medical expert as part of the claim.

The expert would review any relevant past medical notes, and examine you/ask you questions about the effects of the data breach on your mental health. Then, they would put together a report that detailed their professional opinion on your injuries, and prognosis. The medical report could be used as evidence within your claim, and to work out an appropriate settlement for the suffering and pain you have experienced.

The Judicial College Guidelines

The above publication could be used by courts and solicitors to hone in on appropriate payouts for psychological injuries. We’ve taken some figures from the Judicial College Guidelines to illustrate how much could be appropriate for different levels of injury. We hope you find this useful. And for a more accurate assessment, why not discuss your case with our team.

Edit
Psychological injury type Approximate bracket from the Judicial College Guidelines Level of severity of the injury
PTSD/Post-traumatic stress disorder conditions Up to £7,680 Less severe
PTSD/Post-traumatic stress disorder conditions £7,680 to £21,730 Moderate
PTSD/Post-traumatic stress disorder conditions £21,730 to £56,180 Moderately severe
PTSD/Post-traumatic stress disorder conditions £56,180 to £94,470 Severe
Psychological harm (General) Up to £5,500 Less severe
Psychological harm (General) £5,500 to £17,900 Moderate
Psychological harm(General) £17,900 to £51,460 Moderately severe
Psychological harm (General) £51,460 to £108,620 Severe

What Are My Rights And Could A Solicitor Assist Me?

You have the right to make a claim for a university data breach in the UK if you have been harmed by it. There are time limits in place when it comes to making data breach claims against Ravensbourne University London, however, that you might wish to consider. Usually, you would have 6 years to make a university data breach claim, and 1 year to make a claim for a breach of your human rights.

Reporting Data Breaches

If you wish to go it alone with a Ravensbourne University London data breach claim, you may wish to write a letter to the university, giving details of the breach and how it has affected you. If you’re not happy with the response from the university, you could escalate your report to the Information Commissioner’s Office and ask them to investigate your claim further.

Why Use A Solicitor

Although it is not a legal requirement to use the services of a data breach solicitor when making a claim for data breach compensation, many claimants prefer to have legal support. The benefits of using a lawyer to make a data breach claim against the Ravensbourne University London Could include:

  • Not having to put together all the paperwork needed to submit a claim
  • Having a lawyer onside to handle the negotiations for compensation
  • Knowing all the legal paperwork would be handled by a professional
  • Knowing that the lawyer would fight for the maximum compensation possible for the claim

Finding a Solicitor

If you’re looking for a quality solicitor to help you with a data breach claim against Ravensbourne University, we’d be glad to help. Here at Legal Expert, we have many years of experience in helping claimants with a variety of different compensation claims.

Our expert advisors could assess your case for free to see if you could have a valid claim. If we believe you could be eligible for compensation, we could provide you with a solicitor who could take your claim on under No Win No Fee terms, meaning you wouldn’t pay them a penny until your compensation had been arranged.

Our previous clients have attested to our great communication, quality and highly professional service, as you can see from our reviews. Why not call us today to see how we could help you with your claim?

No Win No Fee Data Breach Claims Against Ravensbourne University

Whether you’ve suffered a data breach by Ravensbourne University London due to a cyberattack, negligence or human error, you could use the services of one of our data breach solicitors without any need to pay them until your case had concluded and compensation had been paid out. No Win No Fee claims generally work as follows:

  1. Your lawyer would send you a Conditional Fee Agreement (another name for a No Win No Fee agreement) and ask you to sign and return it to them. The agreement document would detail a success fee that you would only pay your lawyer if they secure you a payout. The fee is capped, legally, and represents a small percentage of your eventual payout.
  2. Once you’d agreed to the terms and sent back the agreement to your lawyer, they would be able to begin building your case and negotiating a payout for you. In many cases, university data breach compensation claims are settled without the need to go to court. In the unlikely event that your claim did go to court, your solicitor would support you through the process.
  3. Once your settlement had been paid, the success fee we mentioned would be deducted, with the balance being for your benefit.

What Happens If A Data Breach Claim Against Ravensbourne University London Is Unsuccessful?

Should your claim not conclude with a payout, you may be concerned that you would have to pay your lawyer the success fee or pay for the costs they’d incurred while they pursued your claim. This is not the case. You would not be liable for your solicitor’s costs or the success fee if compensation was not arranged for you.

We have created a detailed guide that explains No Win No Fee claims in more detail, which you can find here. However, if you’d prefer to call us with your questions, we’d be happy to speak to you.

Speaking To An Expert In Data Breach Claims

If you would like to speak to our expert team about making a data breach claim against Ravensbourne University London, we’d be happy to help you. Not only could we provide you with free legal advice, but we would also be happy to provide you with a free, no-obligation eligibility check on your case. If we believe you could have a valid university data breach claim, we could provide you with a lawyer to help you. To contact us, simply:

Further Advice

ICO Data Encryption -This ICO discusses data transfer via a virtual private network (VPN) or via TLS on this page and shows how it could be a secure way for data to be transferred.

A Guide To Data Protection – This guide, from the ICO, gives information to organisations about their responsibilities to protect data.

ICO Information On Reporting Data Breaches – This page could help you if you’re considering reporting a data breach.

Stress Claims For Data Breaches – If you’re intending on making a claim for a breach of data protection by Ravensbourne University London because you’ve suffered stress, this guide could give you useful information.

My Data Has Been Lost – If a Ravensbourne University London data breach has led to your personal information being lost, this guide may offer some useful insight into making a claim.

My Personal Data Was Breached By My Employer – If you suffered a data privacy breach by your employer, this guide could be useful to you.

Other Useful Compensation Guides

We’d like to thank you for taking the time to browse our guide to making a data breach claim against Ravensbourne University London.

Guide by Jeffries

Edited by Billing

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      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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