Fines, civil claims could be heading Liberty’s way

Liberty Holdings Limited could face massive fines through civil lawsuits or a government-mandated information regulator after the financial services giant succumbed to a cyberattack scandal from unknown hackers.

Liberty is fighting to prevent the release of client personal information after the firm’s IT systems came under attack on Thursday from hackers, who demanded payment from the company.

Financial services companies process and store sensitive data of millions of clients, including their ID numbers, medical reports, and banking details.

Liberty could face civil claims from aggrieved clients on the basis of their right to privacy being infringed or fines as high as R10 million for each data breach incident under the Protection of Personal Information Act.

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