InfoBytes Blog
California Attorney General Files Suit Over Untimely Data Breach Notice
On January 24, the California Attorney General (AG) sued a health care company over its alleged failure to timely submit notice of a 2011 data breach. According to the complaint, the company learned of the breach at the end of September 2011, completed a preliminary investigation in December 2011, and subsequently continued the investigation through mid-February 2012. The company allegedly did not begin mailing notice letters to affected individuals until mid-March. The complaint alleges the company failed to provide such notice in the most expedient time possible, which the AG alleges could have commenced in December 2011. The complaint also includes allegations regarding the actual breach at issue. The AG is seeking statutory penalties of $2500 per violation. Among other things, the suit demonstrates the AG’s inclination to take privacy and data security actions beyond the California Online Privacy Protection Act.