The State could face hundreds of millions in legal claims from victims if the HSE is found to have failed to adequately protect patients' data from the cyber hack. Should the HSE’s security defences be found to have been lower than the required standard, people and companies who have had their data compromised can sue in the courts under GDPR. Individual civil legal claims by people whose data has been compromised could total in excess of €15,000 in each instance, according to Daragh O’Brien, managing director with Castlebridge, a data consultancy. “In terms of civil liability in data cases, historically cases tend to be settled out of court, so there are a lot of unknowns. He said he had been contacted by a local GP in his constituency about a breach of patient data related to the hack.

Source: Irish Examiner May 19, 2021 18:08 UTC