OVER 50 MILLION SERVED...AND COUNTING: THE SCOPE OF LIABILITY AND LEGAL DUTY FOR DATA SECURITY BREACHES IN THE INTERNET AGE

摘要

It is the letter consumers dread receiving: Dear Customer: Your credit card /Social Security/bank account number was among those stolen by identity thieves who hacked into our network. It certainly is not a letter any business wants to send, either. When a security breach is due to human error, such as when a delivery truck loses a box or a customer service agent discloses confidential information to a caller pretending to be a legitimate customer, a company can offer explanations that attempt to reassure customers that the incident was a one-time freak accident, or that the responsible employee has been fired, or that the contract with the responsible service provider has been terminated.