SAN JOSE, Calif. (Legal Newsline) – Adobe Systems Inc. has settled its data breach case with several states following a lengthy legal battle that started in 2013.
In the latest development on the matter, the Flash provider has agreed to pay $1 million, which would be divided among the 15 states involved in the case.
In the multistate agreement with Adobe, the company not only agreed to pay $1 million but also arranged to carry out better policies and rules governing its security measures. These new practices, which include a regular evaluation of its security measures and compliance with the requisite state consumer law, are anticipated to ensure that no similar cases would occur again in the future.
This settlement puts an end to the 2013 data breach investigation that saw the personal information of 534,000 residents from the 15 states compromised.
The states affected by this massive data breach are North Carolina, Connecticut and Kentucky. Some of the victims are from Arkansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Others are from Illinois, Maryland, Vermont and Oregon. Rounding up the list of affected states are Indiana, Missouri and Mississippi.
“Criminals and hackers are after our personal financial data and businesses and government must do more to protect it. If a data breach may have put your information at risk, act fast to protect it,” said North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper in a press release.
Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh also reinforced the importance of security measures in companies handling sensitive client information. He further shared his concurrence with the additional efforts from Adobe that aim to protect its clients and their personal details.
“Reasonable security measures must be implemented to maintain the safety and security of consumers’ personal information. As a result of this agreement, Adobe has agreed to bolster its security to prevent another similar occurrence,” he said via an official statement.
For Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, she believes that a high degree of respect and trust is warranted from companies that handle personal information of clients.
“Consumers who entrust a company with their personal data should have that trust respected. Adobe put consumers’ personal data at risk of being compromised by a data breach, and that is unacceptable. This settlement will put in place important new practices to ensure that a breach like this does not happen again,” said Healey in a press release following the settlement.
As for Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, he stated that the settlement would provide reinforcement on their stance to protect the rights of the consumers.
He said, “We’re committed to protecting Ohio’s families, and this agreement will help safeguard consumers’ personal information. This is one of many ways we help protect people from identity theft and similar threats.”