Is your business at risk of a data breach?

Tuesday 28 January 2025

Data breaches are on the rise. The Information Commissioner’s Office’s (ICO) most up to date analysis reveals more organisations than ever are experiencing cyber security breaches that put people’s personal information at risk.

Over 3,000 cyber breaches were reported to the ICO in 2023, with the finance (22%), retail (18%) and education (11%) sectors reporting the most incidents.

A recent survey carried out by the Department for Science, Technology and Innovation illustrates that half of businesses and around a third of charities in the UK report having experienced some form of cyber security breach or attack in the last 12 months.

ICO reporting indicates that phishing is by far the most common type of breach or attack. This is followed, to a much lesser extent, by others impersonating organisations in emails or online and then viruses or other malware

A data breach can have far reaching consequences for an organisation. Aside from the disruption to business operations, organisations may also face financial penalties, costly litigation and significant reputational harm.

Data Action Response Team (DART)

Carson McDowell is the only NI Headquartered firm to have a multi-disciplinary data breach response team.

Experienced a breach?

Our team offers rapid, 24/7 support to organisations that have suffered a data breach. Our team is drawn from experts in data protection, commercial litigation, reputation management and employment law. We offer a comprehensive end to end service to assist you in mitigating the effects of the breach, complying with regulatory requirements, corresponding with data subjects, handling ensuing litigation and dealing with any media fallout.

Preventing a breach?

Our team can also review your existing data protection policies and procedures and help you develop effective data breach response and business continuity processes. We also provide bespoke training solutions tailored to your organisation’s needs to ensure that your organisation is prepared to deal with any future incidents.

If you wish to discuss a data breach within your organisation or to discuss preventing a data breach within your organisation, please contact Laura Cunningham, Partner and Head of the Data Action Response Team at laura.cunningham@carson-mcdowell.com.

Tuesday 28 January 2025