Capital One Hack Prompts Lawsuit, NY AG Probe

The security breach at Capital One that exposed 100 million credit card applications and thousands of bank accounts and Social Security numbers is rapidly seeing repercussions. 

On Tuesday (July 30), the attorney general of New York, Letitia James, said her office was going to start investigating the data breach immediately, according to Reuters. The attorney general said it’s become “far too commonplace” for financial firms to experience hacks of this type. And she wants to make sure that people affected in her state are going  to be taken care of. 

James was instrumental in the settlement with Equifax over a breach that affected 147 million consumers. Equifax has said it will recompense anyone affected by the breach, with conditions. 

Also on Tuesday, a man affected by the Capital One breach filed a lawsuit against the firm. Kevin Zosiak, who lives in Stamford, Connecticut, and whose personal information was compromised in the breach, filed the suit in federal court in Washington, D.C., Reuters reported. The suit is seeking class-action status. 

The data breach affected 100 million people in the U.S. and 6 million in Canada. About 140,000 Social Security numbers and 80,000 bank account numbers were compromised. 

The company revealed Monday (July 29) that on July 19 it discovered unauthorized access by an outside individual, adding that it immediately fixed the configuration vulnerability that was exploited and immediately notified federal law enforcement. 

The FBI has arrested a Seattle area woman, Paige A. Thompson, on a charge of computer fraud and abuse, The Washington Post reported. She was caught with the help of a social media post where she allegedly admitted to breaking the law.

“While I am grateful that the perpetrator has been caught, I am deeply sorry for what has happened,” Richard D. Fairbank, Capital One’s chairman and chief executive, said in a press release. “I sincerely apologize for the understandable worry this incident must be causing those affected and I am committed to making it right.”