data breach

Last week, the Eleventh Circuit reversed in part and remanded an order certifying a class in a case arising from a data breach of Chili’s restaurants, Green-Cooper v. Brinker International, Inc., No. 21-13146, 2023 WL 4446420 (11th Cir. July 11, 2023).  The opinion clarifies the Eleventh Circuit’s view of when data breaches give rise to Article III standing.Continue Reading Eleventh Circuit Holds Having Payment Information Posted to Dark Web Establishes Standing in Data Breach Case, Remands Class Certification Order

This past week, co-defendants in a class action related to the theft of cryptocurrency engaged in their own lawsuit over alleged security failures.  IRA Financial Trust, a retirement account provider offering crypto-assets, sued class action co-defendant Gemini Trust Company, LLC, a crypto-asset exchange owned by the Winklevoss twins, following a breach of IRA customer accounts.  IRA claims that Gemini failed to secure a “master key” to IRA’s accounts, and that hackers were able to exploit this alleged security flaw to steal tens of millions of dollars of cryptocurrency.  This lawsuit demonstrates the growing trend of cryptocurrency thefts resulting from cyber breaches, and ensuing litigation activity.Continue Reading Litigation Between FinTech Companies Follows Class Action Over Cryptocurrency Theft

A recent class action refiled in federal court against Shopify highlights a growing trend  of lawsuits against companies related to the theft of cryptocurrency, particularly as a result of internal company threats.  See Forsberg et al v. Shopify, Inc. et al, 1:22-cv-00436 (D. Del.).  Despite not itself being a repository for or facilitating the sale of any cryptocurrency, the plaintiffs in the Shopify case allege that Shopify is liable for a theft of cryptocurrency after Shopify experienced a data breach caused by its own employees, which exposed a customer list for a cryptocurrency hardware wallet vendor, Ledger SAS.  As cryptocurrency storage and related transactions increasingly feature in companies’ online presence, there is likely to be a growing risk posed by threat actors motivated to target crypto-related assets and data, and more litigation activity in this space.Continue Reading Companies Increasingly Facing Class Actions Connected to Cryptocurrency Theft