Stratfor Settles Lawsuit Over Customer Data Breach
Strategic Forecasting (Stratfor), a global intelligence company, has reached a settlement in a class action lawsuit brought by a disgruntled customer. The judge approved the deal in mid-June, paving the way for compensation to be distributed to affected members.
In December 2011, Stratfor was targeted by the hacker group Anonymous, which leaked credit card information, passwords, and home addresses of about 4,000 customers. The stolen data also included approximately 19,000 US army email addresses. In response to the breach, Stratfor had previously provided identity protection coverage for its paid subscribers for 12 months.
Under the terms of the settlement, class action suit members will receive one month of free services worth $29.08 and a Stratfor e-book known as "The Blue Book". Stratfor will also provide credit monitoring services for any class members who request it. The estimated cost of the settlement for Stratfor is $1.75 million.
The final approval hearing for the settlement is scheduled for September 28. Notable clients of Stratfor include Bank of America, the Defence Department, Doctors Without Borders, Lockheed Martin, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and the United Nations.
In a move to reassure its customers, Stratfor has emphasised its commitment to protecting customer data and improving its security measures. The company has taken steps to strengthen its cybersecurity defences and has implemented new measures to safeguard customer information.
Stratfor's settlement comes as a relief to those affected by the 2011 data breach. The compensation package and credit monitoring services offered by Stratfor aim to provide some measure of reassurance and protection to those whose personal information was compromised.
