EPIC.org is joining those who believe that victims of the PayTime data breach should not have had their lawsuit dismissed for lack of standing.
EPIC has filed an amicus urging a federal appeals court to overturn a decision that limits the ability of data breach victims to sue. The plaintiffs sued a payroll company after their Social Security Numbers and other identifying information were exposed. A lower court dismissed the case because fraudulent transactions had not yet occurred. EPIC argued that data breach victims can sue without having to wait for specific damages. EPIC cataloged the epidemic of data breaches in the US, and explained why companies should be liable when they fail to protect the consumer data they collect. EPIC regularly files briefs defending consumer privacy.
again, this is way too late in the game. The larger corporations have their way with consumers. There is no consumer protection that matters in this world. You’ll be hard pressed to find some investigative report that can absolutely without a doubt prove that a particular breach was the cause that ended with the PII being used and damages were incurred. You cannot throw out the possibility of “unknown” or “un-reported” breaches, undisclosed insider threats.
It would be WAY more feasible for corporations to be given a mandatory flat fine for each ACTIVE record that was breached. The money is held in escrow for 5 years after the initial date of the breach. After 5 years, the funds are realeased back to the company and must be used in the realm of security and protection of consumer information and the upgrading of security related equipment at the facility where the PII is stored.
The US government is clueless on how to control the bleeding behind all of these breaches. We need a government free of circus animals in charge and a president and appointed officials that truly give a crap about what is happening in the realm of these breaches. Sooner or later all this PII floating around can cause massive panic in an electronic war that will take decades to unscrew.