Data Breach Incident Management Service for UK Organisations
Urgent support after a personal data breach, unauthorised disclosure or compromised mailbox. We help organisations understand what personal data may have been exposed, who may be affected and what evidence is available for the next stage of the response.
Our data breach analysis service can work alongside your cyber security, legal and data protection teams, turning large or complex datasets into a structured, reviewable record.
Need to understand what personal data was exposed?
When a breach involves email accounts, shared drives, document stores or large exports, the first challenge is often working out the scale of the exposure. CCS can review the affected material and build a clear picture of the people and data involved.
- Identify affected individuals: names and other identifiers found within the breached data.
- Classify exposed personal data: including contact details, identity documents, financial information and special category data where present.
- Create a structured evidence set: document references, data categories and contact information where available.
- Work to urgent deadlines: with a defined scope, secure transfer route and named point of contact.
Request Data Breach Support
TRUSTED BY ORGANISATIONS OF EVERY SIZE
When organisations bring us in after a data breach
The common thread is the need to turn a large, uncertain dataset into clear evidence about who and what may have been exposed.
Compromised email or Microsoft 365 account
A mailbox or wider Microsoft 365 environment has been accessed and you need to identify messages, attachments, contacts and personal data that may have been visible to the attacker.
Unauthorised disclosure or misdirected data
Files, emails or records have reached the wrong recipient and the organisation needs a defensible record of the affected people, documents and data categories.
Ransomware or wider system compromise
After technical containment, your security or legal team needs support reviewing exported material to understand the personal data exposure and potential impact on individuals.
Third-party or supplier incident
A processor, platform or supplier has reported an incident and you need help analysing the affected dataset before completing your internal risk assessment and response.
The first 72 hours: what the ICO expects
Not every personal data breach must be reported to the ICO. However, organisations must assess the likely risk to people’s rights and freedoms, keep a record of personal data breaches, and report a notifiable breach without undue delay and, where feasible, within 72 hours of becoming aware of it.
If a breach is likely to result in a high risk to individuals, those people must also be informed without undue delay.
Read the ICO personal data breach guidance.
Where CCS fits into the response
We work alongside the people managing the incident. Once the affected data is available for review, we can help answer practical questions such as:
- Which individuals appear in the breached material?
- What categories of personal data are present?
- Where in the dataset does that information appear?
- Are contact details available for the affected individuals?
- What evidence can be returned in a structured results sheet?
If you need ongoing regulatory and governance support around the incident, see our DPO support services. If the incident highlights gaps in your processing records, our RoPA creation and maintenance service can help rebuild that evidence base.
How our data breach analysis service works
A defined workflow keeps urgent projects moving while giving your internal team a clear audit trail.
Secure intake and scope
We confirm the systems or files involved, available exports, likely volumes, priorities, deadlines and the output your team needs. A secure transfer route is agreed before analysis starts.
Review the affected dataset
Experienced operators search and review the material using the agreed criteria, identifying affected people and the personal data that may have been exposed.
Structure and quality check the findings
Results are organised into a usable format, with document or message references, affected individuals, data categories and contact information where available. Quality checks are applied before release.
Return evidence for the response team
Your DPO, legal, security or incident team receives a structured evidence set to support risk assessment, communications, regulatory reporting and remediation work.
Our role is data analysis and personal data breach support. We can work alongside cyber security or forensic specialists, but we do not replace the technical containment and forensic investigation of an active cyber incident.
What we can identify in breached data
The review criteria are agreed for each project. Depending on the incident, this can include:
- Direct identifiers: names, addresses, email addresses, telephone numbers and identification numbers.
- Identity and account material: copies of identity documents, signatures, account details and credentials where present.
- Financial and employment information: payroll, bank details, salary or employment records.
- Special category data: health, racial or ethnic origin, religious or philosophical beliefs, political opinions, trade union membership, genetic or biometric data, sex life or sexual orientation.
- Criminal offence data: allegations, proceedings or convictions where present.
The aim is not simply to find keywords. Human review provides context so your team can understand what was actually exposed and where.
A results sheet built around your response plan
Every breach is different, so the output is agreed during scoping. A typical results set can include the affected individual, the document or message reference, the data categories identified, a short description of the exposure and available contact details.
This gives your response team a working evidence base rather than another unstructured export to review.
Common types of personal data breach we can support
The cause of the incident varies. Our role begins when there is data to analyse and a need to understand the personal information involved.
Phishing and compromised accounts
Unauthorised access to email accounts, cloud platforms or credentials, including compromised Microsoft 365 environments.
Ransomware and malware
Reviewing available datasets after technical containment to help identify personal data that may have been accessed or exfiltrated.
Accidental disclosure
Misdirected emails, incorrect attachments, shared folders or other disclosures where information has reached an unintended recipient.
Insider, supplier and lost-device incidents
Incidents involving staff, contractors, processors, third parties or lost devices where the organisation needs to establish the affected data and people.
Why organisations use CCS for breach analysis
- Experienced data-handling team: CCS has worked with sensitive information and high-volume data projects since 1997.
- UK-based delivery: the original page states that project data is processed in the UK without third-party processing during the service.
- Defined security paperwork: project arrangements can include confidentiality, data sharing and processing documentation.
- Named account management: urgent projects benefit from one clear point of contact, agreed priorities and progress updates.
- Human review: analysis combines tools and experienced reviewers rather than relying on automated keyword matching alone.
Related privacy support after an incident
A breach can uncover wider governance work, but those services have separate purposes and should not be confused with breach analysis.
- DPO Support Services for ongoing advice, regulatory engagement and support around your existing privacy function.
- RoPA Creation & Maintenance if the incident exposes gaps in records of processing and data flows.
- AI Data Protection Support where the incident involves AI tools, model inputs or AI-related data governance.
- SAR Services if the organisation also needs operational help with Subject Access Requests.
This page remains focused on data breach incident management and analysis, keeping those other search intents on their specialist pages.
Data Breach Incident Management FAQs
What is a personal data breach?
A personal data breach is a security incident that leads to the accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure of, or access to personal data. It can include cyber incidents, lost data, mistaken disclosures and other forms of unauthorised access.
Do all personal data breaches need to be reported to the ICO?
No. Organisations must assess the likely risk to individuals. A notifiable breach must be reported to the ICO without undue delay and, where feasible, within 72 hours of becoming aware of it. All personal data breaches should still be recorded internally.
When do affected individuals need to be told?
Where a breach is likely to result in a high risk to individuals rights and freedoms, the affected people must be informed without undue delay. Your organisation and its privacy or legal advisers remain responsible for that assessment and decision.
Can CCS analyse a compromised Microsoft 365 mailbox?
Yes. The existing service is designed for incidents such as compromised mailboxes and large email or document datasets. We agree the export, scope and review criteria before analysis starts.
What does the data breach analysis output include?
The output is tailored to the incident. It can include affected individuals, message or document references, categories of personal data found, a short description of the exposure and contact details where available.
Can you work with large data volumes?
Yes. CCS can scope high-volume review projects, including large mailbox exports and document sets running into hundreds of thousands of pages. The workflow and priorities are agreed before work begins.
Does CCS replace our cyber incident response or forensic team?
No. CCS focuses on personal data breach analysis and response support. We can work alongside cyber security and forensic specialists, but technical containment, recovery and forensic investigation should be handled by the appropriate security team.
Can CCS work with our DPO, legal and security teams?
Yes. The service is designed to provide structured evidence to the people managing the incident. If you also need ongoing privacy governance or regulatory support, our DPO Support Services page explains that separate service.
How quickly can you start?
Urgent projects can be discussed immediately. Start time depends on the availability of the affected data, secure transfer arrangements, scope, volume and deadline. We will confirm what is needed during the initial call.
Discuss your data breach requirements
We can start with the information you have now and explain what we need to scope the analysis.
Call or email our breach response team
If the incident is urgent, talk through what happened, what data is available and the deadline you are working to.
Request a call back
Tell us when it is convenient to speak and leave a contact number. We will get in touch to discuss the incident.
Request a data breach quote
Share the systems, data volume and deadline where known. We can still help if the full scope is not clear yet.