Boots staff data breach claim

In early June 2023, Boots contacted current and former staff stating that it had been notified by Zellis, a company providing it with payroll support services, that it had experienced a cyber-security incident which had led to a disclosure of personal information of staff paid through Boots’s payroll. Zellis also issued a statement confirming that it had suffered a data breach affecting a number of its customers.

Boots stated that the incident happened as a result of a vulnerability in a widely used file transfer tool called MOVEit, supplied by Progress Software, used by Zellis. The software is used to transfer files between and within organisations.

The notification continued that Boots understood that the personal data affected included title, first name, surname, employee number, date of birth, email address, the first line of home address, national insurance number and employment start and end date.

Boots stated that, with Zellis, they had set up a credit and web monitoring package with Experian that would be available free of charge to those affected for the next 24 months. They also said that they were working with Zellis and their cybersecurity partners to monitor the situation.

As well as signing up to, and using, the credit and web monitoring package with Experian, Boots also encouraged those affected to change passwords on important online services, be cautious of any unsolicited and unexpected communications that ask for personal information or refer to a web page asking for personal information and avoid responding to or clicking on links or downloading attachments from suspicious email addresses.

Microsoft and IT specialists have attributed the cyber-attack to the notorious Russian ransomware group C10p (Clop), on the basis of its similarity to previous attacks by the group. Clop have also posted a notice on their darknet site stating that they had exploited vulnerabilities in the MOVEit software to download data from “hundreds of companies”, without naming them, and warned affected organisations to contact them to agree a ransom payment or they would start publishing the stolen data.

Following the expiry of the deadline for contacting them, Clop have started posting data from certain companies, including Shell and Aon, on their website. At the time of writing, no data relating to Boots staff appears to have been posted.

Those affected by the data breach may have claims against Boots and / or Zellis and / or Progress Software for failing to take the necessary action to keep their personal data safe and obtain compensation for the distress and / or any financial losses that this has caused.

While investigations are at an early stage, issues that will need to be considered include the adequacy of the design and maintenance of the software, any failure to identify and promptly notify customers of flaws in the software and provide necessary upgrades / patches, any failure of customers to promptly install any upgrades / patches, any failure to monitor indicators of unauthorised access or suspicious activity and take action as well as the appropriateness of using the software for the tasks for which it was used, and / or the failure to take additional security measures.

On the present information, there may be grounds for bringing a claim for breach of the UK General Data Protection Regulation and / or the Data Protection Act 2018, misuse of private information, breach of confidence and negligence.

Boots appear to have notified current or former staff affected by the data breach in early June 2023.

If you were notified by Boots that your personal data has been affected by the data breach in or about June 2023, you may have a claim for compensation if you have suffered distress and / or any financial, loss as a result of the data breach. You can claim for compensation for the distress caused by the data breach even if you have not lost any money.

How much compensation you can claim may depend on specific factors of your case, such as:

• The personal information accessed, including whether this included your bank account details.
• How many people had unauthorised access to your personal information and for how long.
• The emotional distress caused by the breach.
• Any financial losses experienced as a result of the data breach.

We will obtain a more detailed assessment of the value of the claims from the barristers specialising in data breach matters that we will be instructing in this matter after we have completed our investigations.

It’s too early to provide a timescale for when the matter will be resolved and you may receive any compensation for the data breach. To an extent, this will depend on how Boots / Zellis / Progress Software respond and whether they wish to mediate the claim.

We understand this can be frustrating, but we will keep our clients updated every step of the way via email. You can also reach out to us by emailing bootsstaffdatabreach@leighday.co.uk

We are acting for affected clients on a so called “no win no fee” basis, which will ensure that they receive at least 75% of any compensation they are awarded if the claim is successful. Clients will not be required to make any up-front payment or similar.

We are responding to form completions within a few days. If you have submitted your form during the weekend, please allow an extra day for a response, as we won’t see your details until the following Monday morning.

If you are still to receive a response, please email us at bootsstaffdatabreach@leighday.co.uk to check that the details we hold for you are correct.

The data breach claim is still at an early stage, so no compensation has been given out at the time of writing. However, please be assured that we will keep our clients updated via email.

You can also reach out if you need assistance at any point of the claims process by emailing bootsstaffdatabreach@leighday.co.uk.