Data Breach and GDPR
Legal support for data risk, compliance, and incidents.
Data security isn’t just a technical issue; it’s a legal obligation. Complex 360 gives you rapid incident response, regulatory guidance, and compliance support. Whether you need to notify the ICO, handle claims, or refine your policies, we provide clear, actionable advice that protects your position and reputation.
The Facts
Why does data protection matter?
Under UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, organisations must safeguard personal data, respond to incidents promptly, and demonstrate accountability through policies, records, and training. Breaches can trigger regulatory investigations, compensation claims, and reputational harm. Complex 360 gives you a single point of contact for crisis response and day‑to‑day compliance.
The law
The law requires organisations handling personal data to take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect it from exposure, and to clearly explain how the data is processed and used, for example, in data policies and privacy notices. If breaches occur, you must assess the risk quickly and, in some cases, inform the ICO as well as affected individuals within tight deadlines.
The risks
If you are found to be in breach of GDPR or the Data Protection Act, the consequences for your business can be severe. The ICO can investigate and issue substantial fines – £17.5 million or 4% of your global annual turnover in the most serious cases. Individuals and groups affected by a breach which your business was responsible for can also bring claims for loss and distress.
Next steps
The first step is to isolate any affected systems, preserve records and logs and identify the extent of the breach – what data was affected and which individuals or groups are impacted. Open an incident log to record each action or decision taken. Seek legal advice as soon as possible after the breach to assess any reporting requirements and coordinate your legal defence if necessary.
How Complex Law can help
We act as your data protection counsel – providing an incident team within hours, handling ICO engagement and claims, and building the policy, training, and governance framework that prevents repeat issues.
Data breach response and risk containment
One of our lawyers will lead a coordinated incident response, liaise with IT and vendors, and prepare regulator‑ready records, risk assessments, and notifications.
ICO notification and regulatory defence
Our specialist team will decide if reporting thresholds are met, draft ICO submissions, manage follow‑up queries, and defend your position to minimise enforcement risk.
Subject access requests and individual rights
We will triage SARs, apply exemptions lawfully, manage deadlines, and deliver redacted, defensible disclosures while improving your internal SAR process.
Defence against individual or group claims
Our team will respond to claimant firms, challenge standing, causation, and loss, and negotiate pragmatic outcomes. We will also liaise with insurers where policies are in force.
Join Complex 360
If you don’t have an in-house legal team, dealing with data protection issues can be daunting – especially given the substantial penalties for non-compliance with GDPR.
If the points on our checklist look familiar, you should speak to Complex Law. We’ll put together a tailored legal support plan that fits your business and your budget.
Common issues
Have you suffered a data breach and need to decide on ICO/individual notifications?
Have you received SARs, complaints, or group claims and need to plan responses?
Are your privacy, cookies, retention, and processor agreements outdated or incomplete?
Do you need a standing legal partner to translate technical risks into clear decisions?
Legal services tailored to your needs
Our practice is focused on three areas of law: Consumer Claims, Individuals, and Businesses (Complex 360), making it easy to match your legal issue with the right team and strategy.
Consumer Claims
If you’ve been missold a loan or targeted by fraudsters or scammers, you don’t have to face the fallout alone. We’ll represent you on a no-win, no-fee basis.
What Others Say
Hear from our past clients
We’re proud of our success rate. Over the last four decades, we’ve helped thousands of clients secure the judgments, compensation, settlements, or resolutions they were seeking.
Excellent rating
Paul W
Ridiculously easy to check and apply. All the searching is done for you in literally one minute. A soft credit check is required but doesn't impact your score. Go and claim what’s rightly owed!
Kathleen H
This is the first time I have contacted Complex Law. It was easy and I got a quick response. I was shocked how many finance companies they found within half an hour. There was no way I would have remembered these companies.
Sidali S
Really pleased with how easy it was to fill out the complaint form. The layout was clear, and the steps were simple to follow, which made the whole process quick and stress-free. It’s great to see such an efficient and user-friendly system in place.
Frequently asked questions
If you don’t find the answer to your question here, get in touch with us and we’ll be happy to help.
A personal data breach is defined as an incident where personal data is either lost, destroyed/deleted, altered or disclosed to someone not authorised to access it. Breaches may be deliberate or accidental. Common scenarios leading to data breaches include phishing, hacking and ransomware attacks, lapses in cybersecurity, staff training issues or mishandling of communications – such as sending an email or text to the wrong recipient.
No, it’s not always mandatory to notify the Information Commissioner’s Office of a data breach – only those breaches that are likely to result in a risk to individuals’ rights or freedoms. If you’re concerned about a data breach that has occurred at your business, Complex Law can run a structured risk assessment, document the rationale, and, if we believe that notifying the ICO is required, draft and submit it within the deadline.
Once you receive a subject access request (SAR), the clock starts ticking – you have one month to respond in the correct format, or you may face a fine. With Complex 360, we’ll manage everything for you. We’ll collect and search data sources, apply legal exemptions, and redact data appropriately to protect third-party data and privilege. Then, we will manage deadlines and correspondence to narrow the scope where possible. We can also enhance your SAR process and templates to make future requests easier to manage.
We tailor our service to the needs of your business and the types and volumes of data that you handle. You’ll be assigned a named contact for continuity and quick decisions. Common services include providing and updating your privacy, cookies, and data retention policies, RoPA support, DPIA templates and reviews, transfer tools (IDTAs/SCCs), vendor due diligence packs, and staff training. We can schedule periodic data audits, simulate incidents, and keep documentation aligned to operational changes.
In the event of a breach which might expose you to both legal liability and reputational damage, our team will coordinate legal, IT, PR, and insurer stakeholders under legal privilege, ensuring consistent messaging and ensuring that all decision‑making is legally defensible. We prioritise containment as far as possible – always in line with legal and regulatory obligations – while protecting your litigation position and commercial relationships. If it is necessary to make a public statement about any breach, we’ll help you draft the relevant communications to uphold your brand position and minimise loss of trust.
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