Two class actions filed following Guardian Analytics data breach

Guardian analytics data breach overview:

• Who: Two lawsuits have been filed against Webster Bank and Guardian Analytics.
• Why: The companies are accused of negligence after a data breach. 
• Where: The Guardian analytics data breach lawsuits were filed in a New Jersey federal court.
• What are my options: Consumers looking for products to help them safeguard their own data may be interested in products from Norton LifeLock.

Two lawsuits have been filed against Webster Bank and Guardian Analytics after the commercial bank and its third-party fraud detection services provider allegedly allowed a ransomware attack and Webster customers had their information marketed on the dark web. 

Plaintiffs Edward Marshall and Ann Marie Marshall filed a class action lawsuit against Guardian Analytics, Actimize Inc. and Webster Bank on April 18 in a New Jersey federal court, alleging negligence. Plaintiff Arthur Christiani also filed a class action lawsuit against the companies on the same day in a New Jersey federal court.

According to the lawsuits, Webster Bank; its fraud detection contractor, Guardian Analytics Inc.; and Guardian’s parent company, Actimize Inc., should face liability for a ransomware attack and security breaches between November 2022 and January 2023.

“Defendants’ negligence resulted in Plaintiffs and class members’ Private Identifiable Information (PII) being exposed in a Data Breach, causing immediate harm and making them susceptible to identity theft and fraud,” the Marshalls said.

“Webster Bank admits that the unencrypted PII obtained by an unauthorized external party included name, Social Security number, and financial account numbers,” their lawsuit states.

Webster customer data was kept in a reckless manner, lawsuit states

Meanwhile, Christiani claimed in his lawsuit that personally identifiable information for Webster customers had been maintained by Guardian in “a reckless and negligent manner.” 

He said Guardian kept this information, which included names, Social Security numbers and bank account numbers, on a database that wasn’t password protected and was “therefore accessible to any member of the public.”

“Foreseeably, cybercriminals exploited this obvious vulnerability, exfiltrated Plaintiff’s and Class Members’ [private information] from the database, and then listed this information for sale on the dark web,” he stated.

He added that Webster customers affected by the breach were notified of the incident in a letter they received about two months after Guardian discovered the breach in January.

As a result, both he and the Marshalls are looking to represent anyone whose information was compromised in the breach. 

The plaintiffs in both lawsuits seek certification of the class action, damages, fees, costs and an order forcing the companies to improve their data security.

Webster Bank and Guardian Analytics are not the only companies to face class action lawsuits after a data breach.

Another recent class action lawsuit alleged software company Fortra bears responsibility for a January data breach that compromised the personally identifiable information and personal health information of more than one million of its customers.

Were you affected by this data breach? Let us know in the comments! 

The Marshalls are represented by Levin Sedran & Berman and Goldenberg Schneider LLC. 

Christiani is represented by Charles E. Schaffer, David C. Magagna and Nicholas J. Elia of Levin Sedran & Berman and Joseph M. Lyon of The Lyon Law Firm LLC.

The Guardian Analytics cases are Christiani, et al. v. Guardian Analytics Inc. et al., Case No. 2:23-cv-02158, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey and Edward Marshall, et al., v. Guardian Analytics, et al., Case No. 2:23-cv-02156-WJM-LDW in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.

Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:

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• Sound Generations data breach class action settlement
• TMX Finance faces four class actions over data breach that affects 4.8M customers
• Public Employees Credit Union data breach class action settlement