National Public Data data breach class action overview:ย
- Who: National Public Data has been hit with three class action lawsuits by U.S. residents.
- Why: The plaintiffs say the company was responsible for their data being exposed in a breach.
- Where: The National Public Data class action lawsuits were filed in Florida federal courts.
National Public Data, a background check company that aggregates billions of records, is facing three separate class action lawsuits in the aftermath of a significant data breach that exposed the personal information of countless people.
The three lawsuits, each filed in Florida federal courts in the first week of August, accuse the company of failing to protect sensitive data from a cyberattack that happened earlier this year.
The complaints, brought against Jerico Pictures Inc. โ doing business as National Public Data โ allege that the companyโs systems were breached in April 2024.ย
2.9 billion records stolen
According to the lawsuits, the data breach led to the theft of personally identifiable information belonging to millions of individuals.ย
The stolen data, which included full names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, addresses, and even family history, was reportedly put up for sale on the dark web, the plaintiffs allege.
The breach was first reported on June 1, 2024, by VX-Underground, a cybersecurity research group, one of the complaints states.
VX-Underground claimed that the cybercriminal group โUSDoDโ was behind the attack and had posted the database containing 2.9 billion records for sale online for $3.5 million.ย
The research group also confirmed the authenticity of the data. Despite the scale of the breach, National Public Data has yet to publicly acknowledge the incident or notify affected individuals directly, the lawsuits state.
National Public Data failed to secure information, lawsuits claim
The four named plaintiffs in the lawsuits argue that the company failed to adequately secure the sensitive information it collected, leaving it vulnerable to unauthorized access.ย
They also claim National Public Data obtained much of the data from non-public sources without the knowledge or consent of the individuals involved.ย
The lawsuits allege that by collecting and profiting from this data, the company assumed a duty to protect it โ a duty the company did not live up to, the plaintiffs say.
One of the plaintiffs, James Thomas Jones of Florida, says he discovered in late July that his personal information had been compromised.ย
Jones says he was alerted by Experian that his data had been found on the dark web following the breach. He states that he never provided his information to National Public Data and that the company scraped his information from non-public sources without his consent.
As a result, the plaintiffs are seeking to represent classes of U.S. residents whose personally identifiable information was compromised in the breach.ย
They are suing for negligence and breach of implied contract and are seeking certification of the class action lawsuits, damages, fees, costs and orders requiring National Public Data to enhance its cybersecurity practices. The lawsuits also seek jury trials.ย
Were you affected by the National Public Data breach? Let us know in the comments.ย
The plaintiffs are represented by Kopelowitz Ostrow Ferguson Weiselberg Gilbert and Markovits, Stock & Demarco LLC; and Morgan & Morgan Complex Litigation Group and Chimicles Schwartz Kriner & Donaldson-Smith LLP.
The National Public Data breach class actions lawsuits are Lowanda Wilcox v. Jerico Pictures Inc., Case No. 0:24-cv-61418-AHS; Barry Cotton et al., v. Jerico Pictures Inc., Case No. 0:24-cv-61396-MD and James Thomas Jones v. Jerico Pictures Inc., Case No. 0:24-cv-61412-XXXX, all in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.ย
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811 thoughts onNational Public Data class actions allege company responsible for data breach affecting billions
I would like to be added to the class action. I was notified by McAfee my personal information has been compromised.
I would like to be added. I got multiple alerts that my information was on the dark web leaked by National Public Data breach
Reply
I would like to be added to The Class Action Lawsuit. I found out through Experian that my name(s), both maiden and married, my address, both present and past from many years ago, date of birth, email, AND SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER have been detected on the DARK WEB in relation to the National Public Data Breach, which I am just now reading and learning about. I have not received an official โdata breach letterโ from National Public Data, which I cannot understand. Iโve had my information removed from over 42 sites, my social security number located on dark web 5 times with my other personal info on the dark web over 10 times as of right now. Itโs horrible.. but Iโve took what steps I can to keep this from getting any worse. Froze and locked my credit, change my passwords, etc. This is insane.
I would like to be added. I received a Chase alert that my social security was exposed on the dark web through the website national public data.
I would like to be added. I received an email from Chase that my social security number has been compromised.
All of a sudden I started receiving many fraudulent emails with strange addresses and attachments. then Lifelock informed me I was in this data breach.
Started getting scam emails from a rarely used non public email threatening me by showing my personal information. Looked into it and found my data was leaked from this breach
Alert by life lock my ss number is on dark web from NPD data breach.
I would like to be added. I got multiple alerts that my information was On the dark web by website called national public data
I would like to be added. Was alerted by Chase my Social security number was stolen, but have yet to get letter from proper channels