Manchester’s Barings Law has signed up over 1000 claimants potentially affected by the recent Ministry of Defence data breach in which sensitive details of serving UK army personnel were hacked.
Barings added that it is currently fielding hundreds of enquiries daily.
On May 7, the MoD alerted military personnel to a data breach which largely targeted the organisation’s payroll system.
The letter stated that the breach affected regular and reservist personnel and a small number of veterans, and that the data shared included names, bank details and, in some cases, addresses.
It is currently unknown what the hackers intend to do with this data or whether it is now available on the dark web.
Adnan Malik, head of data breach at Barings Law, said: “There is a lot of anxiety and confusion for people who may have been affected in what could be a major breach affecting many people.
“We are receiving hundreds of enquiries every day. Some are serving members of the armed forces who feel let down, others who have high security clearance, are afraid they could lose their jobs. Their livelihoods are at risk, and they do not know how much of their personal information could have been shared online.
“It can be easy to forget when we see these huge government data breaches that real people are impacted. We know how scary this is for them and want to help as many of the personnel who are affected as we can.”
In response to the breach, the MoD took the affected system offline, however it has reassured employees that they will still be paid.
A full review has been launched, drawing on specialist external and Cabinet Office expertise, and potential failings by the contractor are also being investigated.
Baring’s Law’s data breach team recently made headlines for being the first in the country to issue a case against Capita at London’s High Court, with thousands of clients signing up and more enquiring each day.
The Capita breach occurred in March 2023, targeting pension details, and leaving a lot of people concerned.
Malik added: “Barings Law will always be there to stand up for those who have been put at risk by data breaches, whether they are caused by the negligence of an organisation or something else entirely.
“We are living in a time where data is invaluable, and it can be scary not knowing who has access to your personal information.
“While we can’t stop that data from being out there, we can advocate fully for our clients. We can let them know we are on their side, and we want to help them get justice in any way possible.”
