Listen to article \u2022\u00a00:00 min<\/p>\n
Cybercriminals duped a Blank Rome attorney into sharing the personal information of 57,554 former and current clients, two federal lawsuits filed Monday say. <\/p>\n
The firm, which is headquartered in Philadelphia and has 15 other offices nationwide, notified impacted clients a month after the incident, according to the complaints. <\/p>\n
The two<\/a> nearly identical<\/a> proposed class-action lawsuits, filed in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania by former Blank Rome clients from California, accuse the firm of negligence, breach of contract, and violation of consumer protection laws, among other claims. <\/p>\n Blank Rome failed to use industry standards for cybersecurity and to comply with safeguards mandated by a federal medical privacy law, according to the complaints. It also didn\u2019t appropriately train staff to identify these types of cyber schemes, the suits said.<\/p>\n The lawsuits asks a judge to certify the class action on behalf of all people impacted by the breach, award them damages, and order action to ensure their identities are protected.<\/p>\n \u201cThe exposure of one\u2019s Private Information to cybercriminals is a bell that cannot be unrung,\u201d the suits say. \u201cBefore this data breach, its current, former, and prospective clients\u2019 Private Information was exactly that \u2014 private. Not anymore.”<\/p>\n The incident was limited to one attorney and the firm\u2019s network was never breached, a Blank Rome spokesperson said. <\/p>\n \u201cWe are committed to protecting our clients\u2019 information and maintaining the trust they place in us,\u201d the firm\u2019s statement said. \u201cWe believe the lawsuit has no merit and will aggressively defend against it.\u201d<\/p>\n The attorney who filed the two lawsuits did not respond to a request for comment. <\/p>\n Class-action lawsuits following cybersecurity breaches have become increasingly common. Earlier this year, Comcast agreed to pay $117.5 million<\/a> to settle two dozen suits over a 2023 data breach<\/a>, and the University of Pennsylvania<\/a> was sued multiple times over an October breach that impacted fewer than 10 people<\/a>.<\/p>\n They are also lucrative for class attorneys who can pocket as much as a third of the settlement\u2019s amount. <\/p>\n