Today the FTC announced a $100-million settlement of its most recent data security lawsuit against LifeLock, the ubiquitous B2C provider of credit monitoring and identity theft protection to consumers.  Despite years of litigation with the FTC and 35 states’ attorneys general, LifeLock has continued with a business model that taps into consumers’ visceral fear of identity theft, and also consumers’ persistent belief that such exposure can magically disappear… all for “less than $10/ month.” But while “Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world,” LifeLock’s settlement with the FTC is a reminder that there is no perfect protection against identity theft.
Continue Reading FTC v. LifeLock — sorry Virginia, there is no Security Claus

Talk about a “bank holiday” – under a settlement deal filed in court yesterday, Target will pay $39.4 million  to a litigation class of banks and credit unions to settle financial institution claims related to the retailers’ massive 2013 data breach, which compromised at least 40 million credit cards. The preliminary settlement is the first time a retailer has agreed to directly absorb financial institutions’ costs from a data breach, such as fraud losses and the expense of issuing new debit and credit cards.

Under the terms of this settlement, Target will pay up to $20.25 million directly to the settlement class and $19.1 million to fund MasterCard’s Account Data Compromise Program relating to the breach. The settlement will apply to all U.S. financial institutions that issued payment cards identified as having been at risk from the breach and that did not previously release their claims against Target by signing on to separate deals. A final approval hearing on the settlement is set for next year.
Continue Reading Target update: Happy holidays for banks

Companies suffering a data breach have a lot to worry about. High on that list is Norman Siegel, a founding member of Stueve Siegel Hanson LLP. Siegel is a prominent data breach plaintiffs’ lawyer – he helped lead the team representing consumers in the consolidated Target data breach lawsuits, and currently serves as lead counsel representing consumers in the pending Home Depot data breach litigation. He also is co-chair of the Privacy and Data Breach Litigation Group of the American Association for Justice.

I recently asked Siegel for his thoughts on the current landscape of data breach consumer litigation. Here is what he shared.
Continue Reading Words from the wolf at the door