Posted On February 3, 2022 Consumer Privacy & Data Breaches
February 3, 2022 – Recently, the Young Men’s & Young Women’s Hebrew Association announced that the personal information of approximately 25,907 individuals was compromised in a data breach. Our data breach attorneys are investigating this cybersecurity incident to determine if consumers could have the grounds for a data breach class action lawsuit.
The company recently reported that, on August 23, 2021, an unauthorized party gained access to certain files on its servers. A subsequent investigation revealed that the files may have contained the following information:
According to reports, the Young Men’s & Young Women’s Hebrew Association does not know which individuals’ information was actually accessed and cannot confirm that the unauthorized party retained any of the information.
However, anyone in receipt of a Young Men’s & Young Women’s Hebrew Association data breach notification letter may now face an increased risk of identity theft and other financial losses. Attorneys are now investigating this recent cybersecurity incident to determine whether the company took the necessary steps to keep your data secure and whether those impacted by the breach can pursue a class action lawsuit.
A data breach occurs when a hacker or other unauthorized party secretly gains access to sensitive consumer information stored on a company’s servers through some kind of cyberattack. Once a hacker obtains consumer data, they may use the information to commit identity theft or for other criminal purposes. Sometimes hackers will sell the data they obtain through a cyberattack to the highest bidder.
No one can tell with certainty why a hacker targeted your data in a data breach or what they plan to do with it, but the fact that your sensitive information is in the hands of an unauthorized party puts you at a greater risk of identity theft.
As consumers, we all provide personal data to companies for a variety of reasons. We trust these companies to protect our private data and keep this information secure. Unfortunately, data breaches happen frequently.
Attorneys are investigating data events like this security breach to determine the legal rights of consumers who trusted corporations with their sensitive information. Often, hackers target companies that rely on outdated or otherwise inadequate data-security measures. If it is determined that the Young Men’s & Young Women’s Hebrew Association did, in fact, fail to properly protect consumers’ data in some way, the individuals affected may be eligible to pursue compensation for their financial losses.
While consumers should be careful about providing data only to legitimate companies for legitimate purposes, even well-known legally established companies can become the target of a data breach cyberattack.
Consumers who receive a data breach notification letter should carefully read the letter in its entirety and retain it for future reference.
If the company affected by the breach is offering consumers any credit monitoring or identity theft protection services, the consumer should follow the directions outlined in the letter to promptly sign up for these services. Do not assume that you are automatically enrolled in these services.
To protect and preserve their legal rights, it is highly recommended that individuals who received notice that their data may have been compromised immediately reach out to an experienced data breach attorney.
Companies have an ethical and legal duty to protect consumers’ personal information. While developing and implementing a comprehensive and up-to-date data-security system is costly, this is a necessary cost of doing business in an environment where cyberattacks and data breaches are common.
Data breach laws are complex, and just because your information may have been accessed while in the Young Men’s & Young Women’s Hebrew Association’s care doesn’t necessarily make this company legally responsible. However, if a company fails to take appropriate actions to protect consumers’ sensitive information, it may face liability through a data breach class action lawsuit.
At Console & Associates, P.C., our data breach lawyers are actively investigating the Young Men’s & Young Women’s Hebrew Association data breach to determine what legal remedies, if any, affected parties have. If evidence emerges that the company mishandled your data leading up to the data breach or chose not to maintain adequate security measures, you may be eligible for financial compensation through a data breach class action lawsuit.
If you received a data breach notification letter, it is important that you not only protect yourself from possible fraud but also preserve your legal rights by speaking to a data breach attorney. Consumer privacy lawyers are undertaking investigations in legal matters involving all types of data breaches, ransomware attacks, and cyberattacks on a no-win, no-fee basis.
Find a copy of the data breach letter here.
Dear [RECIPIENT],
The Young Men’s and Young Women’s Hebrew Association d/b/a The 92nd Street Y (“92Y”) writes to inform you of an incident that may impact your information. We are providing you with information about the incident, our response, and steps you may take to better protect your information, should you feel it is appropriate to do so.
What Happened? On August 23, 2021, we identified unusual activity in our network. In response, we commenced an investigation into the activity to determine its nature and scope. We subsequently determined that there was unauthorized access to our network in August 2021, and that certain files may have been downloaded. In order to determine what information was contained in the potentially impacted files, and to whom it related so that we could provide notification to potentially impacted individuals, we then undertook a comprehensive and diligent review of the potentially affected files, which was completed on or around January 10, 2022.
What Information was Involved? Information contained in the reviewed files included name, <<Full Data Elements>>.
What We Are Doing. We take this incident and the security of information in our care very seriously. As part of our ongoing commitment to the privacy of information in our care, we implemented additional technical security measures. We are also reviewing and enhancing existing policies and procedures to reduce the likelihood of a similar future event. Additionally, as an added precaution, we are offering you complimentary access to credit monitoring through IDX.
What You Can Do. We encourage you to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft and fraud and to review your account statements and free credit reports for suspicious activity and to detect errors. We also recommend you review the “Steps You Can Take to Help Protect Your Information” section of this letter. Further, we encourage you to enroll in the offered identity monitoring services.
