Manchester United in court after HR data breach

The English football club accidentally emailed wage slips of hundreds of staff, revealing their earnings and other sensitive data, Manchester Evening News has reported.

English Premier League club Manchester United faces damages of $127,000 (£100,000), with 37 impacted individuals, mainly catering staff, seeking an average payment of £3,000 for the incident, which occurred in 2018.

Reportedly, the club’s HR office accidentally revealed information on 167 workers.

The club said it regrets the “isolated breach,” adding it has enacted measures to avoid such incidents in the future and informed the Information Commissioner’s Office, the UK’s data watchdog.

The incident occurred after staff members received a single file with workers’ names, addresses, earning details, National Insurance numbers (UK’s Social Security number equivalent), pension benefit details, and tax contributions.

HR leaks can endanger individuals if they fall into the wrong hands. Personal information could be exploited for phishing campaigns, assist in forgery, and identity theft.

Manchester United is among the UK’s most recognized and largest football clubs, with yearly revenues topping $800 million. The team is owned by the Glazer family, which also controls the National Football League’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers.