Guntrader Data Leak and compensation claims

[timbrayford]

Blaming other crime victims for any problems caused by the criminal activities of others merely compounds the problem and aims at the wrong target. Those truly responsible are the hackers and those who would seek to use the information gained from it. Unscrupulous lawyers and the Howard League most be wringing their hands with joy at some of the anti-guntrader hate that has emerged as a result of their loss

 

[Milligan]

Blaming other crime victims for any problems caused by the criminal activities of others merely compounds the problem and aims at the wrong target. Those truly responsible are the hackers and those who would seek to use the information gained from it. Unscrupulous lawyers and the Howard League most be wringing their hands with joy at some of the anti-guntrader hate that has emerged as a result of their loss

yes and no. the law is quite clear on this, if you fail to keep your customers data safe you are liable.
In this respect they are no different than any other institution that holds an asset on your behalf. If they don't look after it, they are liable and ones recourse is through them, not the crook who happened to pass by the open gate...

 

[Mike L]

@Milligan , how much are you after?

 

[kes]

My approach is to forget it and let the Police get the hackers. They must be really hard on them though, like they were on their own kind when the Met sold firearms data - whatever came of that ?

 

[sunndog]

I haven’t actually looked into it in any detail, I am assuming they want to take a hefty percentage to make the claim? I really hope lessons are learnt from this, I have seen another new online gun sales platform has popped up all ready stating they offer state of art online security etc obviously making a dig at guntrader and trying to poach their users.

What's this new gun sales site?

 

[Milligan]

@Milligan , how much are you after?

if I do elect to pursue it would be what it costs to bolster security.
I've lived through worse things than this from a 'distress' perspective so not interested in that.

 

[25 Sharps]

Hey all, as many of us more than likely are I was one of the people that had my details stolen as part of the hacking on guntrader. Question is, I have been getting calls from no win no fee claims companies regarding it and offering to gain compensation for this. Has anyone else thought about it or even started a claim yet?

No, it hasn’t even crossed my mind.
Doesn’t surprise me if the YouTube generation though

 

[25 Sharps]

Its also typical of today's society that straight away the Vultures start circling in the form of these blame organisations, asking those affected to take action against the company. There as bad as the people that hacked the business in the first place, in my opinion.

As are the people who make claims when they have not suffered any actual loss or expense. Especially claims that will effectively push a small business.

Bottom feeders to the man

 

[gonzo]

Or get a no-fee law company to start an action against the cold calling ambulance chasers, for misuse of your data.

 

[bfltd0]

Hey all, as many of us more than likely are I was one of the people that had my details stolen as part of the hacking on guntrader. Question is, I have been getting calls from no win no fee claims companies regarding it and offering to gain compensation for this. Has anyone else thought about it or even started a claim yet?

Firstly, be aware of anyone contacting you out of the blue. For any reason. In this case, they may be criminals attempting to ascertain whether you actually own firearms.

Secondly, as others have pointed out, if these people contacting you are demonstrably legitimate ambulance-chasers, how did they know you were on the list? And how did they get your details in the first place?

If anyone rings me saying they are from this or that no-win, no-fee legal company, I will ask them to prove who they are. If they can prove it to my satisfaction (Companies House search, social media search on company directors, website details search etc), I will then ask them to provide in writing proof of the process by which they obtained my contact details.

If I believe that they have accessed in any way the data hacked from Guntrader, I will report that company to the NCA, the regional cyber crime unit dealing with the Guntrader breach and copy in my FEO.

A final thought on this issue: the ICO may well fine Guntrader - their powers have been beefed up so they can hand out some big number fines. It is possible that Guntrader could be forced out of business by the ICO fine alone. So where would that leave the ambulance-chasers (with no assets left to claim against)?

 

[Mike L]

Firstly, be aware of anyone contacting you out of the blue. For any reason. In this case, they may be criminals attempting to ascertain whether you actually own firearms.

Secondly, as others have pointed out, if these people contacting you are demonstrably legitimate ambulance-chasers, how did they know you were on the list? And how did they get your details in the first place?

If anyone rings me saying they are from this or that no-win, no-fee legal company, I will ask them to prove who they are. If they can prove it to my satisfaction (Companies House search, social media search on company directors, website details search etc), I will then ask them to provide in writing proof of the process by which they obtained my contact details.

If I believe that they have accessed in any way the data hacked from Guntrader, I will report that company to the NCA, the regional cyber crime unit dealing with the Guntrader breach and copy in my FEO.

A final thought on this issue: the ICO may well fine Guntrader - their powers have been beefed up so they can hand out some big number fines. It is possible that Guntrader could be forced out of business by the ICO fine alone. So where would that leave the ambulance-chasers (with no assets left to claim against)?

The police nationwide are already involved, it's called operation oasis.

 

[Jimmers]

If anyone wants to check if their data was contained in the breach or any other breaches - check out the website below. Enter your email address and it'll tell you what (if any) leaks you've been part of.

Have I Been Pwned: Check if your email has been compromised in a data breach

Have I Been Pwned allows you to search across multiple data breaches to see if your email address or phone number has been compromised.

haveibeenpwned.com

It can also check your passwords that you use if you want to, for those concerned about sending passwords to a random site just check the About - Privacy page.

 

[scotch_egg]

The police nationwide are already involved, it's called operation oasis.

I hope the police are complying with the victim charter and keeping all victims updated with the progress of the investigation….

 

[Pedro]

I recently insured my motorbike. I did it on the 'phone and when it came to paying, I had to input the numbers on my keypad, so, as the feller I was speaking to said, nobody actually got my details. Very good, thought I. A day or two later I checked my bank account and I noticed the amount for the insurance had been taken out twice.

Obviously I called them back and they apologised and said one of the payments would be returned. Jolly good, I thought. But then it occurred to me that they didn't have my account details, so I expected to either get a call or perhaps have to call them again when nothing happened. Two days later, they had refunded the required amount into my account. Hmmmm....

 

[Mike L]

I hope the police are complying with the victim charter and keeping all victims updated with the progress of the investigation….

Well, they are keeping me informed so far.

 

[timbrayford]

Well, they are keeping me informed so far.

So are Hants

 

[Scotty99]

So how did they get your number? Presumably from the leaked data when it was available on the internet. Maybe better off suing the law firm for unauthorised use of your private data.

 

[Hornet 6]

Just a thought, how do the "ambulance chasers" know who, & how to contact people ?

Would this not be another leak of information ?

Think PPI, that's where it all started in this country, now done with, but many more opportunities will be exploited by the ambulance chasers.

 

[Milligan]

I recently insured my motorbike. I did it on the 'phone and when it came to paying, I had to input the numbers on my keypad, so, as the feller I was speaking to said, nobody actually got my details. Very good, thought I. A day or two later I checked my bank account and I noticed the amount for the insurance had been taken out twice.

Obviously I called them back and they apologised and said one of the payments would be returned. Jolly good, I thought. But then it occurred to me that they didn't have my account details, so I expected to either get a call or perhaps have to call them again when nothing happened. Two days later, they had refunded the required amount into my account. Hmmmm....

Your details went to a 3rd party payment provider who took the payment details which are then reconciled to your policy number. Dial tone masking DTMF isn't new tech but it does work and creates a degree of separation between the vendor and the payment, a bit like paypal.
This way the insurance company doesn't need to worry about compliance with PCI DSS regulations, which are complicated and expensive.

 

[Milligan]

Firstly, be aware of anyone contacting you out of the blue. For any reason. In this case, they may be criminals attempting to ascertain whether you actually own firearms.

Secondly, as others have pointed out, if these people contacting you are demonstrably legitimate ambulance-chasers, how did they know you were on the list? And how did they get your details in the first place?

If anyone rings me saying they are from this or that no-win, no-fee legal company, I will ask them to prove who they are. If they can prove it to my satisfaction (Companies House search, social media search on company directors, website details search etc), I will then ask them to provide in writing proof of the process by which they obtained my contact details.

If I believe that they have accessed in any way the data hacked from Guntrader, I will report that company to the NCA, the regional cyber crime unit dealing with the Guntrader breach and copy in my FEO.

A final thought on this issue: the ICO may well fine Guntrader - their powers have been beefed up so they can hand out some big number fines. It is possible that Guntrader could be forced out of business by the ICO fine alone. So where would that leave the ambulance-chasers (with no assets left to claim against)?

the size of the fine will depend largely on what measures Guntrader had in place and how they responded and in the context of their balance sheet and financial health. The ICO has moderated all the fines it has levied against some pretty large establishments to date.
The police, I think, are on a losing wicket here given that the original hack itself was probably a drive by from abroad, and the repost with the map was hosted in Iceland.
I don't hold high hopes for anyone being brought to book.