Data Breach vs. Data Leak: What’s the Difference in Legal Cases?
Learning that someone has accessed your private data can leave you feeling unsafe and stressed about your financial future. While it can’t undo the harm you’ve suffered, understanding the cause of the data exposure can empower you to take legal action. If you want to file a lawsuit or seek compensation, start by determining whether the incident was a data breach, where someone intentionally exposed your information, or a data leak, where the release was accidental.
The cause of data exposure might seem like a minor detail. However, it can directly impact the type of legal action you take and the compensation you seek. Class Action U is here to help you understand the distinction between a data breach and a data leak and what kind of legal action you should take.
How Legal Cases Differ for Data Breaches and Data Leaks
The legal landscapes for these incidents vary because of the differences in intent and regulatory requirements. The legal claims, processes, and responsibilities for most data breaches are more straightforward, while data leaks often involve more complex and speculative damages.
Types of Legal Claims for Data Breaches
In a data breach case, where data is compromised due to an intentional and potentially malicious act, victims generally file claims based on these factors:
- Negligence: Your claim might involve negligence, where the company failed to protect your data through reasonable steps, such as proper training. You can hold a business accountable if it could have reasonably assumed its negligence could result in a data breach.
- Breach of contract: If the organization has a contractual obligation to protect your data and fails to meet it, you can sue them for breaking that contract. For example, many companies include data privacy statements in their privacy policies or terms of service.
- Consumer protection violations: Some data breaches violate consumer protection laws, especially when the exposed data includes personal, financial, or health-related information. These laws differ by state, so look closely at the requirements where you live.
- Regulatory violations: Companies that fail to report breaches or comply with privacy regulations can face legal penalties. The most significant laws protecting data privacy include the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR; the California Consumer Privacy Act, or CCPA; and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA.
Keep in mind that more than one of these scenarios may apply to your data breach case. An attorney can help you determine the basis for your claim.
Types of Legal Claims for Data Leaks
Victims of data leaks can opt to file lawsuits based on similar issues, including negligence. However, they may also file other kinds of claims, including:
- Invasion of privacy: The unintentional or unauthorized release of your personal information can lead to lawsuits for invasion of privacy. As a victim, you may experience a loss of control over your data and potential harm to your reputation.
- Breach of data protection laws: The GDPR, CCPA, and other laws require organizations to take certain steps to minimize the chance of data leaks. Incidents occurring due to poor security measures may violate those data protection regulations.
- Potential for misuse of data: Victims of data leaks may pursue cases based on the risk of someone misusing their data. For instance, a person who accesses leaked personal information might use it to commit identity theft or credit card fraud.
To determine the type of claim you’ll file, you and your data breach lawyer will carefully review the details of your case, including any harm you have experienced and any laws the company violated.
Compensation for Victims: Data Breach vs. Data Leak
Data leaks and breaches can take a financial and emotional toll. You may be entitled to compensation as a victim of either kind of incident, but the damages you can pursue depend on how it happened and how it affected you.
Types of Compensation Available for Data Breach Victims
Data breach claims tend to be more clear-cut because they’re often the result of cyberattacks or other easily provable events. Your attorney’s ability to pinpoint the cause of the breach—and the company’s responsibility for it—allows you to pursue damages such as:
- Financial losses: As a victim, you can seek damages for any direct financial losses, such as fraudulent charges or identity theft.
- Identity theft protection: In addition to or in place of money, many companies offer compensation in the form of free credit monitoring or identity theft protection.
- Emotional distress: You may claim compensation for emotional distress, such as stress, anxiety, and trauma, particularly if sensitive financial or medical data was exposed.
- Punitive damages: If a data breach occurs because of gross negligence or malicious conduct on the part of the organization responsible for protecting your data, the court may also award punitive damages to discourage such poor behavior in the future.
- Privacy violations: When a breach allows unwanted access to sensitive or confidential information, you may be entitled to compensation for the violation of your privacy rights.
In addition to explaining how legal claims differ for data leaks and data breaches, an attorney can help you calculate your damages based on the effects you’ve experienced.
Types of Compensation Available for Data Leak Victims
Like data breaches, data leaks can cause significant financial and emotional harm. However, these damages are sometimes more speculative and complicated because proving cause is more difficult.
If you and your attorney can show the organization is to blame for the leak, you can seek several kinds of damages, such as:
- Risk of future harm: Immediate financial losses are sometimes harder to prove in data leaks, but you may still be entitled to compensation for the risk of future harm, including identity theft or financial fraud.
- Reputational damage: When a leak exposes sensitive personal information to the public, you can seek compensation for harm to your reputation, especially if the leak affects your career or personal life.
- Privacy violations: Exposure of sensitive or confidential information may also entitle you to compensation for violations of your privacy rights.
- Emotional distress: As in data breach cases, victims of data leaks may be eligible for compensation for the emotional toll caused by the incident, particularly if it involved personal information.
Determining how much to claim in damages is challenging because you have to consider both past and future losses. A data leak attorney with experience calculating damages can be a valuable asset in this process.
Legal Options for Seeking Compensation: Data Breach vs Data Leak
Once you understand what the difference between a data leak and a data breach is, you can begin evaluating your legal options. The two most common avenues are individual and class action lawsuits, but the appropriate choice for your case may differ based on the nature of the exposure.
Individual Lawsuits
If you were a victim of a data breach or leak, you can file an individual lawsuit against the responsible party. An individual suit might be a good choice if you were the only victim in an incident or if it was limited to a small number of people.
Depending on the circumstances of the case, the complexity and timeline of this kind of claim can vary significantly. In addition, you may find it more difficult to prove direct harm if your data was accidentally leaked rather than breached. This can make the process longer and more difficult because you will need to collect enough evidence to show both why the company was responsible and how you suffered as a result.
Class Action Settlements
Victims of data breaches and leaks are rarely alone—these incidents affected more than 1.35 billion people in the United States in 2024. When a large-scale incident impacts multiple individuals, they can start a class action lawsuit. In a class action suit, a group of plaintiffs files a single lawsuit against the company responsible for the breach or leak. If the company has to pay a settlement or verdict, each affected party will receive a portion of the damages.
Before you join a class action lawsuit, remember that you may only receive a small part of the overall settlement. Although the distribution of these funds is often equal, some individuals may receive higher sums based on the type and degree of harm they suffered.
How Can CAU Help Victims of Data Breaches and Data Leaks?
Learning how legal cases differ for data breaches and data leaks is only the first step in your fight for justice. Filing a lawsuit is a difficult task made harder when you don’t have support from a knowledgeable attorney.
Class Action U is committed to supporting victims of data breaches and data leaks. We can help you seek the compensation you deserve by connecting you with an experienced lawyer. If you’re a victim of a data exposure, reach out to discuss your options.
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