AON Corporation recently revealed that the details of 22,000 people were leaked, two weeks ago. I hadn't really covered it because it was not a situation where data protection, such as AlertBoot's drive encryption, would have helped: the information was actually posted on-line. Today, a lawsuit was filed against AON and lawyers are seeking class-action status. In the end, AON will probably come out on top. I'm not a lawyer, so how do I know? History, my friend. History.
AON Corporation recently revealed that the details of 22,000 people were leaked, two weeks ago. I hadn't really covered it because it was not a situation where data protection, such as AlertBoot's drive encryption, would have helped: the information was actually posted on-line.
Today, a lawsuit was filed against AON and lawyers are seeking class-action status. In the end, AON will probably come out on top. I'm not a lawyer, so how do I know?
History, my friend. History.
I've covered the issue before, as have many law-oriented websites. My most recent one is this one, where the Bank of New York Mellon successfully had a similar lawsuit dismissed. In that particular case, a backup tape with sensitive information was lost, potentially putting hundreds of thousands And therein lies the rub. So far, the courts have ruled again and again that the potential for harm is not grounds for a lawsuit. Only if someone can prove harm will the cases have any merit. So, the question with the AON case above is: can harm be proved? Can it be linked directly to the AON breach? Color me a pessimist, but this is another case that will be dismissed, class-action status or not. Unless, of course, someone becomes a victim of ID theft. Isn't that weird and sadly funny? In order to even gain a foothold in this lawsuit, the defendant (or defendants) essentially has to pray for even more damage.
I've covered the issue before, as have many law-oriented websites. My most recent one is this one, where the Bank of New York Mellon successfully had a similar lawsuit dismissed. In that particular case, a backup tape with sensitive information was lost, potentially putting hundreds of thousands
And therein lies the rub. So far, the courts have ruled again and again that the potential for harm is not grounds for a lawsuit. Only if someone can prove harm will the cases have any merit.
So, the question with the AON case above is: can harm be proved? Can it be linked directly to the AON breach? Color me a pessimist, but this is another case that will be dismissed, class-action status or not.
Unless, of course, someone becomes a victim of ID theft. Isn't that weird and sadly funny? In order to even gain a foothold in this lawsuit, the defendant (or defendants) essentially has to pray for even more damage.
Related Articles and Sites:http://www.itnews.com.au/News/230799,aon-leaks-22000-id-records.aspxhttp://www.delawareonline.com/article/20100902/NEWS02/9020337