Comcast class action claims company’s negligence resulted in data breach

Comcast class action lawsuit overview:

• Who: Plaintiff Kenneth Hasson filed a class action lawsuit against Comcast Cable Communications LLC.
• Why: Comcast allegedly failed to take adequate cybersecurity measures to protect customers’ sensitive information from a data breach that occurred in October.
• Where: The Comcast data breach lawsuit was filed in Pennsylvania.

Comcast Cable Communications LLC allegedly failed to properly safeguard its customers’ personally identifiable information (PII) from a data breach that targeted Xfinity in October, according to a class action lawsuit.

Comcast owns and operates Xfinity, which is one of the largest telecommunications companies in the United States, the data breach class action explains.

Plaintiff Kenneth Hasson says hackers exploited a Comcast security vulnerability between Oct. 16 and 19 that allowed them to access the PII of nearly 36 million Xfinity customers.

The PII allegedly compromised in the Comcast data breach may include customers’ names, contact information, last four digits of their Social Security numbers, birthdates, usernames, hashed passwords, and security questions and answers.

Comcast reportedly began informing customers about the breach Dec. 18, explaining that Citrix, one of Xfinity’s software providers, announced a vulnerability in one of the products used by Xfinity. Unauthorized third parties allegedly accessed Xfinity’s internal systems before the vulnerability was patched.

The plaintiff says Comcast knew that it was important to safeguard customers’ PII and that it knew about the dire consequences of a potential Comcast data breach. However, he says, Comcast failed to take adequate cybersecurity measures to protect customers’ sensitive information.

Comcast data breach may affect victims for years to come, plaintiff says

Criminals can use PII to commit a variety of crimes such as identity theft, financial fraud and medical fraud, the Comcast class action lawsuit explains. This type of stolen information is often posted on underground websites known as the “dark web.”

The number of data breaches have increased significantly in recent years, and so have the reports of identity theft and fraud, the plaintiff says. Once PII is stolen, the victim may experience harm for years to come, according to the Comcast class action lawsuit.

“As a direct and proximate result of Comcast’s failure to implement and follow basic security procedures, plaintiff’s and class members’ PII is now in the hands of cybercriminals,” the plaintiff says.

The plaintiff says he is at increased risk for fraud and identity theft due to the Comcast data breach. He claims he has spent valuable time monitoring his accounts to detect and prevent misuse of his personal information.

The Comcast data breach lawsuit is just one of the latest class action lawsuits to be filed in the wake of a data breach. In December, multiple class action lawsuits were filed against Progress Software Corp. and other entities affected by data breaches stemming from a May cyberattack targeting Progress’s MOVEit file transfer software.

Were you affected by the data breach? Tell us about your experience in the comments.

Hasson is represented by Gary F. Lynch, Nicholas A. Colella, Patrick D. Donathen and Connor P. Hayes of Lynch Carpenter LLP and MaryBeth V. Gibson of The Finley Firm PC.

The Comcast data breach class action lawsuit is Kenneth Hasson v. Comcast Cable Communications LLC, Case No. 2:23-cv-05039, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:

• Delta Dental of California data breach affects 7M
• Progress Software Corp. hit with multiple lawsuits following data breach
• 23andMe confirms October breach compromised data from 6.9M users
• HR co. data breach affects Dollar Tree, Family Dollar employees, class action claims