The New York state attorney general, Letitia James, announced a lawsuit against Dunkin’ Donuts after they failed to notify customers of cyberattacks that occurred in 2015 and in 2018. The lawsuit claims that Dunkin’ Donuts had knowledge of the 2015 attacks on customers’ accounts which resulted in money being stolen from those accounts. The suit accuses the company of not informing customers nor performing a full investigation into the attacks.
Attorney General Letitia James also claims that Dunkin’ did not disclose all of the information to customers in the 2018 attacks. The company notified customers that an attack had been attempted but did not disclose that accounts had been successfully breached.
Dunkin’ Brands Inc. denies the claims. They responded to the lawsuit saying that they had “fully cooperated with the AG’s investigation”. Dunkin’ chief communications officer, Karen Raskopf, said that the 2015 investigation found that customers’ accounts had not been hacked and, therefore, they did not need to notify them.
With the current state of technology and payment methods, most people automatically trust that their information is in good hands. That trust is tested when there is a security breach. One of the most notable breaches was the Equifax breach. There are more than 70 class action lawsuits against Equifax due to identity theft and theft of personal information. Victims are experiencing opened accounts and credit disruption in their name without their knowledge or consent. Some people have reported more than 15 cases of identity theft due to the hacking of Equifax’s databases.
When information is left at risk for identity theft, it can result in a series of problems in the victim’s name including the opening of bank accounts, credit cards, and lines of credits. They can even attribute speeding tickets to a person. The thief can also steal tax refunds and social security checks. The long term effect is devastating, and the process to reverse the theft is long and grueling.
Organizations are trusted with personal information on a daily basis. Are you protected in case of a data breach? Our insurance programs protect you and your business in the event that personal information has been exposed to cyber theft. Contact us today to learn more about a Cyber Liability policy.