Anne Bucher  |  January 11, 2023

Category: Education

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Close up of Hope College signage.
(Photo Credit: Susan Montgomery/Shutterstock)

Hope College class action lawsuit overview:

  • Who: Plaintiff Mark Cyphers filed a data breach class action lawsuit against Hope College.
  • Why: Hope College allegedly failed to safeguard sensitive data, leaving it vulnerable to a 2022 cyberattack.
  • Where: The Hope College class action lawsuit was filed in Michigan federal court.

Hope College has been hit with a class action lawsuit alleging it failed to properly safeguard data, leaving the sensitive personal information of students, applicants, contractors, and employees vulnerable to a data breach.

The Hope College class action explains that Hope College is a private liberal arts college in Holland, Mich.

Plaintiff Mark Cyphers is a small business owner who does “extensive business with Hope,” the Hope College class action lawsuit states. He says he received a letter notifying him about the Hope College data breach in December 2022.

The letter Cyphers received stated that Hope College had been the victim of a data breach, through which a malicious actor accessed and acquired personally identifiable information (PII) of current and former employees, students, contractors, and admission applicants of the college.

Hope College allegedly maintained this sensitive PII in an unencrypted format and failed to adopt adequate cybersecurity protocols and procedures.

The compromised PII included names, birthdates, Social Security numbers, Employment ID numbers, driver’s license numbers, and student ID numbers, the Hope College class action lawsuit alleges.

Hope College class action says college failed encrypt or redact personally identifiable information

Cyphers claims that the class members’ “unencrypted, unredacted PII was compromised due to Hope College’s negligent and/or careless acts and omissions, and due to its utter failure to protect class members’ sensitive data.”

The Hope College class action lawsuit asserts that cyberattacks are increasingly common and that the college should have taken appropriate measures to prepare for and prevent PII from being accessed by cybercriminals.

More than 156,000 individuals have been affected by the Hope College data breach, Cyphers alleges. As a result, they are vulnerable to identity theft and fraud.

The Hope College class action lawsuit asserts claims for negligence, unjust enrichment, and breach of implied contract.

Hope College is not the only college to be targeted by a data breach. St. Francis College recently agreed to settle a class action lawsuit that was filed in the wake of a 2018 data breach.

Were you affected by the Hope College data breach? Join the discussion in the comments section!

Cyphers is represented by Charles R. Ash IV of Ash Law PLLC and Gary M. Klinger of Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman PLLC.

The Hope College data breach class action lawsuit is Mark Cyphers v. Hope College, Case No. 1:23-cv-00013, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, Southern Division.


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