Shipbuilding Company Fincantieri Failed to Protect Employee Data from Cyberattack, Class Action Claims

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A proposed class action claims Fincantieri Marine Group failed to protect the private data of at least 16,000 individuals during an April 2023 cyberattack.

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According to the 61-page Fincantieri data breach lawsuit, an investigation into the cyberattack revealed that an unauthorized third party had gained access to certain systems in the company’s network between April 6 and April 12, 2023. The suit says that during the incident, the threat actor exfiltrated at least the names and Social Security numbers of current and former employees and their dependents.

Although Fincantieri had a duty to safeguard the personal data in its care, the shipbuilding and repair company “recklessly” failed to take proper cybersecurity measures to protect the information from unauthorized disclosure, the case contends. The complaint contends that the defendant left the stored data “accessible, unencrypted, unprotected, and vulnerable to acquisition” by cybercriminals.

In addition, despite detecting the incident on April 12 of last year, the company did not begin to notify victims until early January 2024, the filing shares.

“During this time [the plaintiff] and Class Members had no idea their [personally identifiable information] had been compromised in the Data Breach, and that they were, and continue to be, at significant risk of identity theft and various other forms of personal, social, and financial harm,” the data breach lawsuit relays. “The risk will remain for their respective lifetimes.”

The plaintiff, a Wisconsin resident, says he received notice on January 5, 2024, informing him that his personal data had been compromised in the breach. Like other victims, the man now faces a serious and ongoing risk of fraud, identity theft and other illegal schemes as a result of Fincantieri’s alleged negligence, the case asserts.

The lawsuit looks to represent anyone in the United States whose personal information was compromised in the data breach that is the subject of the notice letter Fincantieri Marine Group sent to impacted individuals on or around January 5, 2024.

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