Golden Corral Data Breach Lawsuit Says Unauthorized Party Stole Consumers’ Private Info

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Golden Corral faces a proposed class action lawsuit that alleges lax cybersecurity on the part of the buffet-style restaurant chain is to blame for a significant August 2023 data breach.

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The 46-page Golden Corral data breach lawsuit says that the incident occurred between August 11 and August 15, 2023, though victims were not sent data breach notice letters until mid-February 2024. Per the suit, the risk of a data breach was known to Golden Corral, yet the restaurant failed to implement “adequate and reasonable cyber-security procedures and protocols” to protect the consumer information stored in its systems. 

According to the case, filed by a former Golden Corral employee, consumers’ names, mailing and email addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and other sensitive details were potentially accessed by those responsible for the cyberattack. Golden Corral data breach victims now face “a current, imminent, and ongoing risk of fraud and identity theft,” a threat that will exist for years, the data breach lawsuit emphasizes. 

“Plaintiff’s and Class Member’s identities are now at risk because of Defendant’s negligent conduct since the Private Information that Defendant collected and maintained is now in the hands of data thieves,” the complaint reads. 

As the case tells it, the risk of a data breach of Golden Corral’s systems was “not merely theoretical,” as in recent years businesses such as Equifax, Yahoo, Marriott, Anthem and a litany of other big names have been targeted by hackers. The filing argues that Golden Corral knew that the sensitive data in its care “would be attractive targets for cybercriminals” and thus should have fortified its systems to prevent the unauthorized disclosure of consumers’ information. 

Rather than help data breach victims, Golden Corral has instead placed the burden upon proposed class members to sign up for identity theft protection and monitoring services, the complaint says. 

The lawsuit looks to cover all individuals in the United States whose private information was compromised in the Golden Corral data breach. 

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