Breach, Compliance Management, Threat Management, Data Security, Privacy, Threat Management

San Diego is suing Experian over data breach

The city of San Diego is suing Experian over the data breach that compromised millions of records including those of 250,000 people in San Diego.

San Diego City Attorney Mara Elliott filed a lawsuit against the firm claiming the consumer credit company failed to notify customers of the breach, as required by California law, and ordering the firm to pay for identity protection services to those affected, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.

The lawsuit estimates that 30 million consumers could have had their information hacked and cited the Internal Revenue Service's findings that hackers filed more than 13,000 false returns using the hacked information, obtaining $65 million in fraudulent tax refunds.

Elliot's lawsuit also cited the Vietnamese teen who impersonated a private investigator to gain access to the information and then sold his access to some 1,300 thieves worldwide who collectively bought access to the data paying $1.9 million over an 18-month period.

Experian could potentially face millions in fines as each violation carries a $2,500 penalty. The firm has yet to respond to the case

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