Met Police Launch Investigation Into Supplier Data Breach

Legal Director Christine Sabino runs through the details of a hugely damaging data breach involving the Metropolitan Police and one of their third-party suppliers, as well as what steps any potential victims can take.

The Metropolitan Police have launched an investigation after a data breach involving the IT systems of one its suppliers recently came to light.

While the full scale of the data breach is not yet known, the supplier is understood to have had access to a wide range of information relating to officers and staff. This included names, ranks, photos vetting levels and pay numbers.

A Met Police spokesperson was unable to confirm how the data breach occurred or how many officers have been affected.

Rick Prior, the vice-chair of the Metropolitan Police Federation said: “Metropolitan police officers are as we speak out on the streets of London undertaking some of the most difficult and dangerous roles imaginable to catch criminals and keep the public safe.

“To have their personal details potentially leaked out into the public domain in this manner, for all to possibly see, will cause colleagues incredible concern and anger. We share that sense of fury … this is a staggering security breach that should never have happened.”

The Met police data breach follows on from a number of recent incidents, including those involving the Police Service of Northern Ireland and Exeter Heavitree Road Police Station.

If personal data has indeed been compromised in the Met Police data breach, the Met will be expected to notify and victims accordingly.

Anyone whose personal information was exposed in the Met Police data breach may in a position to make a claim for compensation. This is something the team at Hayes Connor will be able to help you with.

As specialists in supporting victims of data breaches, we will be ready to provide tailored advice on whether you will be in a position to make a claim and what the process is likely to involve.

To find out more about whether you will be able to claim compensation for the Met Police data breach, please fill in our online enquiry form.

What to do if you are concerned about the Met Police data breach

Any organisation that is responsible for your personal data is legally obliged to keep it secure. Similarly, they must also make sure that, if any data becomes compromised, they contact anyone who has been affected as soon as possible.

If you have not been contacted by the Met in relation to the recent data breach, and you are concerned that your personal data may have been compromised, it is important that you get in touch with them as soon as possible.

During this time, you should also be wary of any unexpected communications, especially if they appear to be from someone claiming to represent the Met. There is a chance that these could be phishing attacks which are designed to extract further sensitive information from you.

There are several steps you can take to ward off someone using your personal data against you. To learn more about this, please read our helpful guide on what to do if your data has been stolen in a data breach.

If your data has been exposed in the Met Police data breach, you could be entitled to claim compensation. This is where the expertise of our dedicated data breach solicitors will prove invaluable.

How Hayes Connor can help you claim compensation for the Met Police data breach

If personal data falls into the wrong hands for any reason, the potential consequences can be extremely severe, especially for any current or former police officers.

At Hayes Connor, we have one of the largest teams of data breach specialists in the country. We have a wealth of combined experience and expertise among our team which we use to support victims from of various types of data breaches.

When instructed, our team will work closely with you to clarify the details of your case and how you have personally been affected by the Met Police data breach. We can then establish whether making a claim would be possible and explain how the process will work.

We recognise that discovering that your personal data has been exposed can be an extremely distressing event. We therefore make sure to provide close personal support, while keeping the entire claims process as straightforward as possible at all times.

You can find out more about our expertise and how we handle data breach claims here.

To start a claim for Met Police data breach compensation, you can use our online enquiry form.

To speak to a member of our team about making a Met Police data breach claim, please do not hesitate to give us a call on 0330 041 5133.