Fergie's Tech Blog

U.S. Court Allows Suit Against Bank For Lax Security

Jaikumar Vijayan writes on ComputerWorld:

A couple whose bank account was breached can sue their bank for its alleged failure to implement the latest security measures designed to prevent such compromises.

In a ruling issued last month, Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer, of the District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, denied a request by Citizens Financial Bank to dismiss a negligence claim brought against it by Marsha and Michael Shames-Yeakel. The Crown Point, Ind. couple -- customers of the bank -- alleged that Citizens' failure to implement up-to-date user authentication measures resulted in the theft of more than $26,000 from their home equity line of credit.

The negligence claim was one of several claims brought against Citizens by the couple. Although, Pallmeyer dismissed several of the other claims, she allowed the negligence claim against Citizens to stand. She noted that the couple had shown that a "reasonable finder of fact could conclude that the bank breached its duty to protect Plaintiffs' account against fraudulent access."

The ruling highlights an issue that security analysts have been talking about for a long time: the need by companies to show due diligence in protecting customer data against malicious and accidental compromise. Security analysts have warned that companies that can't prove they took adequate measures to protect data could find themselves exposed to legal liability after a data breach.

posted by Fergie @ 9/02/2009 08:22:00 PM