CSO reports on federal courts’ widening definition of damages from data breaches. This “sea change” leaves unprepared companies at risk when it comes to class-action lawsuits, according to lawyers from the firm Pepper Hamilton. Until recently, courts would dismiss data breach lawsuits that couldn’t prove specific harm. But courts “are starting to pick up on the fact that the data that can get out there can cause serious harm, maybe not immediately but sometime in the near future,” lawyer Jeffrey Vagle said. A recent survey found the average settlement award for class-action data breach suits to be $2,500 per plaintiff.
Full Story