The Canadian Privacy Law Blog: Developments in privacy law and writings of a Canadian privacy lawyer, containing information related to the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (aka PIPEDA) and other Canadian and international laws.

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The author of this blog, David T.S. Fraser, is a Canadian privacy lawyer who practices with the firm of McInnes Cooper. He is the author of the Physicians' Privacy Manual. He has a national and international practice advising corporations and individuals on matters related to Canadian privacy laws.

For full contact information and a brief bio, please see David's profile.

Please note that I am only able to provide legal advice to clients. I am not able to provide free legal advice. Any unsolicited information sent to David Fraser cannot be considered to be solicitor-client privileged.

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The views expressed herein are solely the author's and should not be attributed to his employer or clients. Any postings on legal issues are provided as a public service, and do not constitute solicitation or provision of legal advice. The author makes no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained herein or linked to. Nothing herein should be used as a substitute for the advice of competent counsel.

This web site is presented for informational purposes only. These materials do not constitute legal advice and do not create a solicitor-client relationship between you and David T.S. Fraser. If you are seeking specific advice related to Canadian privacy law or PIPEDA, contact the author, David T.S. Fraser.

Monday, July 25, 2005

Lawsuits broach data-security breaches

The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette is carrying an informative article originally from the Wall Street Journal on class action lawsuits stemming from the recent rash of security/privacy incidents.

Journal Gazette | 07/25/2005 | Lawsuits broach data-security breaches
"... The Marin County, Calif., salesman, along with two other plaintiffs, has filed a class-action lawsuit in California Superior Court in San Francisco against CardSystems Solutions Inc., which last month acknowledged that hackers had obtained information on approximately 200,000 credit- and debit-card accounts. The payment-processing concern might have put the personal information of as many as 40 million consumers at risk, including Schultz’s Visa debit-card account.
Schultz, 52, hasn’t discovered fraudulent activity in connection with his Visa account; and even if he wins, he isn’t likely to recoup much money for the time and trouble of monitoring his account and changing his automatic-payment arrangements.
But his suit against CardSystems, of Tucson, Ariz., might help answer one of the biggest questions arising from the recent rash of data-security breaches: Who should pay for damages?
In an earlier era, when little was known about particular hackings, accountability was difficult and data losses were deemed an unavoidable annoyance. Now, merchants, banks, payment processors, credit-card associations and even security auditors and software makers face the prospect of liability for lax practices.
“There is going to be a flood of lawsuits by both consumers and businesses,” said Mark Rasch, a former Justice Department prosecutor and now senior vice president for Solutionary Inc., a security-audit firm in Bethesda, Md. ..."

Labels: cardsystems, information breaches, tort