The Story behind BA Data Breach

Nowadays, the majority of transactions in daily life are carried out electronically. Everything is online now; whether you are planning to travel or buy something, you share information about yourself. Then, you are required to have a credit or debit card to make these purchases and reservations. This puts sensitive financial and personal data into the hands of many companies, and these companies must protect your data against hackers and other cybercriminals. But sometimes, a company fails to do so, and that is called a Data Breach.

When an organization suffers a data breach, the confidential information of thousands of people registered with them is exposed. It goes to people who have no right on it for advertisements or sometimes to wrong hands as well. A data breach can be more than a temporary inconvenience. If unauthorized people can access your name, email address, credit/debit card numbers, and card security codes, they can transform your life—for the worse.

The BA Data Breach: When and How It Happened

In the late summer of 2018, British Airways (BA) sustained such a breach. The company reported that the attack affected bookings from 21st August 2018 and 5th September 2018. It went on to say that the cyber thieves obtained names, street addresses, email addresses, card numbers and details, and other information that would allow them to misuse customer bank accounts and credit cards.

The BA Data Breach was investigated by several experts and an agreement on how the breach happened. The hack began in June of 2018. The hackers used an SSL certificate to gain access to the BA database. The certificate made it appear that the hackers were making a legitimate purchase. They inserted a virus that diverted BA customers from the BA website to a fraudulent website.

On August 15th, BA customers unwittingly entered their personal details into this fake site. Experts say that this was a well-planned and highly organized cyber attack. It has been traced to Magecart, a credit card scam group that is well-known to authorities and is responsible for a similar breach at the ticket-selling vendor Ticketmaster.

How can GDPR Act be helpful in BA Data Breach Claim?

Under the Data Protection Act of 2018, organizations are required to take all measures necessary to keep your data secure. That means they must prevent the unauthorized use, processing, or acquisition of your personal details. They must also guard against loss, damage, or destruction of your data.

If you are one of the many victims of the 2018 BA data breach, GDPR gives you the right to make a BA data breach compensation claim. You can claim both material and non-material damages—that is, monetary and psychological injuries.

Criteria required for BA data breach claims:

-You made a booking on the BA website between the 21st of August 2018 and the 5th of September 2018

-You received confirmation from BA, through email or letter, that you were affected by the breach

How to gain BA Data Breach Compensation?

A class-action lawsuit is underway against British Airways for the data breach. It is estimated that some claimants will receive up to £6,000 in compensation. Some individuals will receive awards of up to £3,000 owing to the fact that an unauthorized person had access to their name and address. The deadline for joining the class action lawsuit was June 3rd. If you have not joined the suit but have suffered material or non-material damages as a result of the BA data breach, you still have legal options for data breach claims.

Before you pursue this claim, you should contact a solicitor. The amount of compensation you receive will depend greatly on what you can prove. A lawyer can help guide you through the process of gathering and presenting the evidence that will demonstrate the extent of the disruption to your life.

Not everyone is in a position to seek legal remedies after such an event. A data breach can not only lead to the stealing of money from bank accounts and the running up of credit card bills; it can also lead to unidentified theft, which can turn a person’s life upside down. It may have taken you months or years to repair the damage caused by the theft of your personal information.

You may have only recently established enough stability in your life to think about filing a lawsuit against British Airways. Hiring a Data Breach Solicitor will allow you to get the maximum amount of compensation that is owed to you given your circumstances. Whether you are part of the class-action lawsuit against British Airways or you intend to pursue action against them on your own, you should seek sound legal advice and competent and experienced representation.