Asset Management Company Ashford Failed to Protect Employee Data from Cyberattack, Class Action Claims

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Ashford has been hit with a proposed class action over a September 2023 cyberattack that reportedly compromised the personal data of approximately 46,000 people.

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The 56-page Ashford data breach lawsuit says the defendant, a Dallas-based company that specializes in asset management for businesses within the hospitality industry, first detected unusual activity on its computer network on September 20, 2023. A subsequent investigation revealed that an unauthorized third party had gained access to Ashford’s systems weeks prior, on September 7, and acquired certain files stored therein, the suit relays.

Per the case, the private information compromised in the data breach included current and former employees’ names and Social Security numbers.

Although Ashford had a legal obligation to safeguard the personal information in its care, the company failed to take proper cybersecurity measures to protect the data from unauthorized disclosure, the complaint alleges. According to the filing, the sensitive information entrusted to Ashford was stored unencrypted and in a condition “vulnerable to cyberattacks.”

In addition, the data breach lawsuit points out that despite discovering the incident on September 20 of last year, the company did not begin to inform victims until late January 2024. The suit contends that this delay deprived affected individuals of the opportunity to promptly mitigate the harm caused by the exposure of their data.

As the case tells it, Ashford’s allegedly negligent conduct will have a lifelong impact on victims.

“As a result of the Data Breach, [the plaintiff] and Class Members have been exposed to a present and continuing risk of fraud and identity theft,” the complaint says. “[The plaintiff] and Class Members must now and in the future closely monitor their financial accounts to guard against identity theft.”

The lawsuit looks to represent anyone in the United States whose private information was impacted as a result of the data breach announced by Ashford in January 2024.

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