FAQS about the Blackbaud data breach
April 20, 2022
UK universities are involved in a global privacy violation. The university data breach occurred as Blackbaud was targeted by criminals.
Several UK universities are involved in a global privacy violation. This educational data breach occurred when Blackbaud – a firm that provides education administration, fundraising, and financial management software – was targeted by cybercriminals.
Many UK universities are compromised. And, to make matters worse, the software provider took weeks to warn people that their data had been stolen. This left victims of the hack at risk of further attacks as they did not realise their data was in the hands of criminals, and that they needed to be extra vigilant.
Furthermore, despite initially claiming that financial data had not been stolen, Blackbaud later admitted that bank account information and users’ passwords were among details feared accessed by hackers (although not everyone will have had their financial details compromised).
Alumni and supporters of the various universities were amongst those that had their data breached.
If your data was included in the university data breach, you may be able to make a compensation claim with Keller Lenkner UK.
The universities involved in the data breach have apologised to those affected. But many victims are now understandably concerned. The damage that can be caused if cybercriminals use this financial and personal information fraudulently could be significant.
University of Birmingham
De Montfort University
University of Strathclyde
University of Exeter
University of York
Oxford Brookes University
Aberystwyth University
University of Bristol
Cumbria University
University of East Anglia
University of Glasgow
Heriot-Watt University
Hughes Hall College, Cambridge
University of Kent
King’s College London
University of Liverpool
St John’s College, Cambridge
Staffordshire University
University of Sussex
University of West London
Northumbria University
Loughborough University
University of Leeds
University of London
University of Reading
University College, Oxford
University of Aberdeen
Birmingham City University
Brunel University
University of Durham
Brasenose College, Oxford
Sheffield Hallam University
Magdalene College, Cambridge
University of Manchester
Edinburgh Napier
University of Newcastle
University of Northampton
Robert Gordon University
Selwyn College, Cambridge
University of South Wales
Somerville College, Oxford
University of Oxford
Other educational establishments affected by this breach included ACS International Schools, St Albans School (Hertfordshire), Radley College, Stonyhurst College, St Aloysius’ College and Goodenough College.
UK universities are involved in a global privacy violation. The university data breach occurred as Blackbaud was targeted by criminals.
In May 2020, over 100 educational, charitable, and third-sector organisations had their customer, donor, and membership data stolen. The breach happened when Blackbaud – a firm that provides administration, fundraising, and financial management software – was targeted by cybercriminals in a devastating cyber-attack. The hackers demanded a ransom in exchange for deleting the data, which Blackbaud paid.
Find out more about making a group action claim for compensation.
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The data breach happened when the Blackbaud software company experienced a cyberattack in May 2020. As a result of the hack, many UK universities were compromised. The personal data of people associated with these universities may have been stolen. In our experience, attacks of this kind happen because of poor data security processes.
The information accessed depends on the university involved. According to the BBC this could include:
Blackbaud has also admitted that bank account information was among the details feared accessed by hackers. Although not everyone will have had their financial details compromised.
If your details were accessed in the university data hack, you should have been informed. Anyone impacted by this breach can now make a compensation claim with Keller Lenkner UK.
The affected educational institutions include:
Anyone who thinks they might be involved should take immediate steps to protect themselves. Our data protection lawyers have created a handy guide to help keep you safe.
If you have been told that your data was 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 Lenkner 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.
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.
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This follows our 2021 success where we were shortlisted in the ‘Independent Law Firm of the Year’ and ‘Strategic Legal Operations Team of the Year’ categories at The British Legal Awards, and the ‘Disputes Boutique Firm of the Year’ category at The Lawyer Awards.