FAQs about the South Staffordshire Water data breach
December 13, 2022
Here are the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions we’ve received about the South Staffordshire Water data breach.
In July 2022, South Staffordshire PLC, the parent company of South Staffordshire Water discovered that it had experienced a cyber-attack. When the water company first announced the cyberattack in August 2022, it was reported that the criminals had accessed the personal data of current and former South Staffordshire Water employees.
Since then, South Staffordshire Water has been “working with leading forensic experts to investigate fully what happened”, and in a subsequent statement, the company confirmed that the “incident resulted in unauthorised access to some of the personal data we hold for a subset of our customers.” The affected details are believed to include:
Keller Postman UK has launched a group action to help those involved in the South Staffordshire Water data security failure claim compensation for any distress or losses experienced because of this breach.
If your details were put at risk, South Staffordshire Water will write to you to let you know. If you receive a letter confirming your involvement in the data breach, you should take immediate steps to protect yourself.
Information stolen in breaches is often used to commit cybercrimes. Privacy violations have resulted in fraud, blackmail, and identity theft, so as well as the immediate financial threat, data breach victims are at high risk of being targeted by cybercriminals.
Our data protection experts have provided some guidance on how to stay safe after a data breach.
Keller Postman UK has launched an action to help those involved in the South Staffordshire Water data security failure claim compensation for any distress or financial losses experienced because of this breach. We urge anyone affected to register with us.
REGISTER TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE SOUTH STAFFORDSHIRE WATER GROUP ACTION.
Talk to our expert data breach lawyers today on 0151 459 5850
Here are the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions we’ve received about the South Staffordshire Water data breach.
Around 1.7 million people in England could be affected by a data breach at South Staffordshire Water and customers who pay their bills by direct debit may have had their bank details stolen. Cybercriminals are behind the data breach in what is suspected to have been an attempted ransomware attack.
When the attack first came to light, a ransomware group claimed to have hacked a different water company’s network (Thames Water) and demanded an extortion payment to prevent the release of the stolen data. Some of the stolen information was later shared on the dark web. However, the hackers misidentified the water company and it was South Staffordshire Water that was affected. The hackers also claimed that they could change the chemical composition of the water, but stressed that they were “not interested in causing harm to people”. South Staffordshire Water rebuffed claims that the criminals could poison water supplies.
The information exposed in this breach includes the name and address of the water account holder, together with the sort code and account number used for the Direct Debit.
South Staffordshire Water has contacted the affected individuals. If you are involved in this breach, you may have a claim for compensation. If you have not received notification, but are worried that you might be involved, you should contact South Staffordshire Water for clarification.
Anyone who thinks they might be involved should take immediate steps to protect themselves.
If you receive a letter from South Staffordshire Water informing you that your data is involved in this breach, you can join our no-win, no-fee compensation claim. There are no costs to register and no obligation to proceed.
A group action claim is where a group of people – sometimes even thousands of people – have been affected by the same issue. Group action cases are also known as class actions, multi-claimant, or multi-party actions.
There are no costs to join a claim. However, if your claim is successful, you may have to pay a ‘success fee’. This fee is taken from the compensation awarded to you. At Keller Postman UK, our success fee is competitive, and we make sure you are fully informed about any potential costs before you officially join our action. If you lose, you won’t have to pay a penny.
South Staffordshire Water has pulled together some FAQs about the data breach here.
Find out more about making a group action claim for compensation.
What does no-win, no-fee actually mean and are there really no costs if you appoint us?
We are one of the most experienced multi-claimant law firms in the UK.
Our GDPR, data breach and cybercrime specialists have a combined experience of over 50 years.
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We have all the resources and global expertise necessary to take on complicated cases and win.
We have offices in Chancery Lane London, Birmingham and Liverpool, and the technology to provide a nationwide service, so we can help clients across England & Wales.
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While each case is judged on its own merits, there are some things we would typically look for when it comes to when claiming compensation following a data breach, cybercrime or other GDPR violation:
With stolen data, cybercriminals can make purchases using your bank and credit cards, apply for credit in your name, set up fraudulent bank accounts and access your existing online accounts.
GDPR failures, cybercrime and data breaches can have a significant impact on you, both mentally and physically. They can cause or exacerbate anxiety, stress and other psychological conditions.
Keller Postman UK has some of the most skilled data breach lawyers in England and Wales. Here are just some of our success stories.
Keller Postman UK is a founding member of the Collective Redress Lawyers Association (CORLA). CORLA aims to improve access to justice for claimants by way of collective redress.