UK court decision highlights corporate data leak risk
Supermarket chain Wm Morrisons has been found liable for a former employee leaking personal information about almost 100,000 members of staff in what is seen as a landmark case for data risk.
A disgruntled worker had leaked the company’s payroll information online. The UK’s High Court decided in favour of 5,518 former and current Morrisons employees which sued the company after their salaries, national insurance numbers, dates of birth and bank account details were posted online in 2014 and were also sent to a number of newspapers, according to news reports. The Court decided that the company was “vicariously liable” and therefore a claim should go ahead, setting a precedent for businesses which hold data on their staff. It is the first class action over a data leak in the UK.
“This decision is significant in several ways,” said Patrick Cannon, claims manager, Tokio Marine Kiln.
“Firstly, it shows that UK companies can be held vicariously liable for criminal acts committed by their employees in data-breach cases.”
“Secondly, and perhaps more significantly, it highlights that UK courts will allow compensation claims for emotional distress in data breach cases, which is a key difference to what we see in the US, where courts typically only recognise financial losses directly attributable to a data breach.”
The ruling opens the way to potential compensation for the workers, although the supermarket chain said it would appeal against the judgment.
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