{"id":191074,"date":"2024-11-02T07:13:04","date_gmt":"2024-11-02T07:13:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/legalvision.co.uk\/?p=191074"},"modified":"2024-11-03T22:18:02","modified_gmt":"2024-11-03T22:18:02","slug":"phishing-email-legal-risks-protect-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/legalvision.co.uk\/regulatory-compliance\/phishing-email-legal-risks-protect-business\/","title":{"rendered":"What is a Phishing Email? Legal Risks and How to Protect Your Business"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Phishing emails are scams that can be dangerous and a severe threat, aiming to trick your business. For instance, they may entice your staff to share confidential information or authorise payments. These emails can, therefore, pose serious financial, reputational, and legal risks to your business. This article explores phishing emails, some key data privacy law risks they can cause, and the steps your business should take to protect itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is Phishing, and How Does It Impact Your Business?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Phishing emails are high-risk. They can look like legitimate communications from trusted sources, such as banks, suppliers, or internal colleagues. These emails often prompt you to take urgent actions (such as clicking a link, entering details, or sharing sensitive data). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cybercriminals can also use targeted approaches, leveraging personal details to appear credible, increasing the risk. By exploiting system vulnerabilities and human error, cybercriminals can use phishing to cause a range of problems, such as data breaches, financial losses, and reputational damage to your business<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n

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GDPR Essentials Factsheet<\/div>\n
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This factsheet sets out how your business can become GDPR compliant.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n\nDownload Now<\/a> <\/section>\n <\/div>\n\n\n\n\n

What Legal Risks Does Phishing Pose to Your Business?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A range of risks can arise from phishing emails, particularly data privacy risks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Phishing can, for example, lead to data breaches that expose your business to significant contractual and litigation risks<\/a>, especially when client data or sensitive information is compromised. Managing these risks is vital for commercial companies, and you should implement robust contractual terms that allocate liability in case of data breaches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Phishing emails that compromise personal data can lead to significant risks under data protection law rules. A business must secure personal data effectively, including the UK GDPR rules<\/a> and the Network and Information Systems (NIS<\/strong>) Regulations. If a phishing attack results in a data breach affecting individuals\u2019 personal data, your business may need to report it to the Information Commissioner\u2019s Office (ICO<\/strong>) within 72 hours if it is reportable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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When the breach poses a high risk, your business must notify affected individuals without undue delay. Failing to comply with UK GDPR rules can result in fines of up to \u00a317.5 million or 4% of your global turnover, whichever is higher.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n Continue reading this article below the form\n <\/i>\n<\/a>\n

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