Data Breach Lawsuit

A data breach lawsuit could be an option for consumers who have had personal information compromised. Amid increasing reported incidents of people’s financial and private information being hacked, it seems most people are potentially vulnerable to a data breach. When a company’s negligence resulted in a data breach, affected consumer may be eligible to seek compensation.

For more information, contact Attorney Group today for a free, confidential, no-obligation consultation. We can answer your questions, and if you choose to pursue a claim, we can connect you with an affiliated data breach lawsuit attorney.

What Is a Data Breach?

Essentially, a data breach is a digital break-in. An authorized attacker or hacker can breach data by accessing a secure database, usually one that includes personal financial, health or other identifying information. In most cases, a data breach is launched either over the Internet or through a vulnerability in a secured network connection. These breaches can result in identity theft and cost consumers both time and money. Sources estimate that the yearly costs of data breaches could reach over $2 trillion by 2019.

How Can Data Breaches Affect You?

In addition to a loss of your personal, financial or health information, data breaches can cause numerous complications for those affected. When financial information is hacked, you might have to pay fees for monitoring your credit to ensure your score isn’t negatively impacted from the violation and to make sure you don’t become a victim of identity theft. You may also have to pay to receive a credit report to check on fraudulent charges.

In addition to potential financial losses, data breaches can also make current and potential customers reluctant to do business with a company after a breach has occurred. No matter how well a company responds to the breach or how well they compensate victims, there’s no guarantee that another breach won’t happen in the future.

Recent Data Breaches

Notable data breaches that have occurred in the recent past include:

• OneLogin Data Breach: A OneLogin data breach is under investigation after the company discovered unauthorized access to OneLogin data in the company’s U.S. region.
• Kmart Data Breach: A possible Kmart data breach is under investigation following customer purchases at some retail locations revealed that the company’s data systems had been infected with malicious code.

• Sabre Corp. Data Breach: Sabre Corp., a Texas-based hospitality corporation, has indicated that it is investigating what could be a major breach of customer data through its reservation system. The breach is believed to have impacted the reservation systems used at more than 32,000 hotels and other lodging facilities.

• Chipotle Data Breach: Consumers are being notified of a possible Chipotle data breach after the company detected unauthorized activity on the network that supports their payment processing for purchases made in their restaurants.

• Shoney’s Data Breach: Best American Hospitality Corp. is investigating reports of a possible Shoney’s data breach after some credit and debit card numbers used at its corporate affiliated Shoney’s restaurant locations were reportedly stolen.

• GameStop Data Breach: According to KrebsOnSecurity, two sources from the financial industry stated that they received alerts from a credit card processor indicating a possible data breach of GameStop.com website between mid-September 2016 and the beginning of February 2017.

• America’s JobLink Data Breach: On March 22, 2017, an outside source reportedly hacked America’s JobLink (AJL) in order to view the names, social security numbers and birth dates of job seekers in AJL sites across multiple states.

• NetProspex Data Breach: A database managed by NetProspex was reportedly leaked online in September 2016, potentially exposing personal information of over 33 million individuals as well as numerous businesses and companies.

• Arby’s Data Breach: In February 2017, KrebsOnSecurity reported that Arby’s was investigating a possible credit and debit card breach after payment systems at corporate-owned Arby’s locations were infected with malware.

• Holiday Inn Data Breach: In December 2016, KrebsOnSecurity reported that InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), the parent company for Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express, is investigating claims of a possible credit card breach at some hotels located in the United States. Cyber thieves reportedly placed malicious software on the point-of-sales devices at restaurants and bars inside the hotel chains to hack customer data and credit card information.

• Cici’s Pizza Data Breach: In July 2016, KrebsOnSecurity reported that Cici’s Pizza has acknowledged a credit card data breach at more than 130 restaurant locations. Malware directed at the restaurant’s point-of-sale systems was used to gather customer credit card data as well as private employee notes.

• Beautiful People Data Breach:  In April 2016, Forbes reported that personal information, including sexual preferences, relationship status, income and address was hacked for more than 1.1 million users of the “elite” dating site BeautifulPeople.com.  The information was reportedly placed for sale online.

• Verizon Enterprise Data Breach: In March 2016, it was reported that Verizon Enterprise Solutions, which helps Fortune 500 companies respond to data breaches, had its own database breach involving information on approximately 1.5 million customers.

• Wendy’s Data Breach – In January 2016, the nationwide chain of fast-food restaurants reported that it was investigating claims of a possible credit card breach at some locations. The acknowledgment came in response to questions from KrebsOnSecurity about banking industry sources who discovered a pattern of fraud on cards that were all recently used at various Wendy’s locations.

• VTech Data Breach – Over 11 million user accounts, including the sensitive information of millions of children, have been affected as a result of a November 2015 data breach involving VTech, a leading manufacturer of electronic toys for children.

• Experian Data Breach – Over 15 million T-Mobile wireless customers reportedly had their personal information hacked as a result of a data breach involving credit reporting bureau Experian. Anyone who applied for a regular T-Mobile USA postpaid plan between September 1, 2013 and September 16, 2015 was potentially affected.

• Trump Hotel Data Breach – In September 2015, Trump Hotels announced a data breach at locations in Chicago, New York, Miami, Las Vegas, Toronto and Hawaii. Hackers may have gotten access to customer credit card information between May of 2014 and June 2015.

• Ashley Madison Data Breach – In July 2015, the notorious adultery website ashleymadison.com was reportedly hacked, putting the personal information of millions of users at risk of exposure. The perpetrators of the Ashley Madison Data Breach threatened to release the stolen information unless the site was taken down. In August 2015, hacker made good on their promise and released personally identifiable information for millions of user. Many speculate that the Ashley Madison data breach will have far reaching effects beyond compromising financial information.

• MIE Data Breach – A lawsuit filed in July 2015 claims that a MIE data breach resulted in the theft of personal financial and protected health information of individuals across the U.S. whose information was used in a Medical Informatics Engineering (MIE) electronic health record.

• Federal Government Data Breach – In May 2015, the U.S. government reported a breach of its personnel office which resulted in the theft of information of roughly four million current and past federal workers.

• mSpy Data Breach – In May 2015 popular device monitoring application known as mSpy reportedly experienced a data breach involving customer data, such as text messages, emails, location information and payment information. It’s estimated the breach impacted an excess of 400,000 mSpy users.

• Hard Rock Data Breach – According to a Reuters report, the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas discovered a data breach on April 3, 2015 in which hackers may have stolen consumer credit card information used at the company’s retail and service locations between September 3, 2014 and April 2, 2015.

• TurboTax Data Breach – A class action data breach lawsuit was filed against Intuit, Inc., the maker of TurboTax, alleging a February 2015 data breach in which the software maker permitted third parties to access user information to file false tax returns. The data breach resulted in the company having to temporarily halt the filing of all returns.

• Target Data Breach – During the holiday season of 2013, Target and its shoppers became the victims of a data breach, one that is alleged to have caused over $10 million in damages. Approximately 40 million Target customers reportedly had their debit and credit card information stolen as a result of the attack, and as many as 110 million people had their mailing and email addresses stolen. In August 2015, Target agreed to pay nearly $67 million to settle claims related to the breach.

A data breach lawsuit has followed many of these reported data breaches.

Affected Consumers May Be Eligible to File a Data Breach Lawsuit

Victims of data breaches may be entitled to receive compensation for any personal information that may have been compromised, and the responsible party may be liable for financial losses resulting from a data breach.

Affected consumers should speak to a data breach lawsuit attorney to get more information about their options.

For more information, contact Attorney Group. When you contact us, an attorney will follow up with you to speak with you about your case or answer questions that you might have. There is no cost or obligation to speak with us, and any information you provide will be kept confidential.

Please note that the law limits the time you have to pursue a claim or file a lawsuit for an injury. If you think you have a case, you should not delay taking action.