SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Legal Newsline) - Class action lawyers have hit AT&T with a lawsuit over a data breach.
AT&T Inc. is facing a lawsuit led by Aquelia Walker, who alleges that the telecommunications giant failed to secure and safeguard personal identifiable information (PII) of its customers. The case was filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California on April 11.
The lawsuit comes after a cyberattack against AT&T allowed unauthorized access to the company's computer systems and data, compromising sensitive PII. This breach resulted in losses for customers, including out-of-pocket expenses to mitigate the effects of the attack, emotional distress, and potential future harm due to compromised PII, the suit claims.
In March, details of approximately 73 million former and current AT&T customer accounts were leaked online. The data breach first became known in August 2021 when a threat actor offered up records for sale on a hacking forum, the suit says.
The plaintiff accuses AT&T of failing to implement adequate cybersecurity procedures and protocols necessary to protect consumers' private information. The complaint also criticizes AT&T's response to the breach, stating that it did not adequately explain how it discovered the breach or what steps it took afterward to secure its systems.
Ann Jernow of Sterlington PLLC and James Evangelista of Evangelista Worley represent the plaintiff.