[Dataloss] Wells Fargo Not Required to Encrypt Data

[lyger]

http://news.com.com/2100-1030_3-6061400.html

What: Wells Fargo Bank customers sue after their personal financial data 
was stolen from a contractor that had not encrypted the information.

When: U.S. District Judge David Doty in Minnesota ruled on March 16.

Outcome: Wells Fargo was found not to be negligent because the information 
was never misused by the thieves.

What happened, according to court documents: Wells Fargo had hired Regulus 
Integrated Solutions to print monthly statements for certain customers who 
had mortgages and student loans from its subsidiaries. In October 2004, 
thieves stole computers from Regulus with unencrypted customer information 
including names, addresses, Social Security numbers and account numbers.

A few weeks later, Wells Fargo alerted its customers and offered to 
provide identity protection services.

There has never been any indication to date that thieves did anything with 
the data (in other words, they appear to have been after the computer 
hardware instead).

Nevertheless, two of the bank's customers, Kristine Forbes and Morgan 
Koop, filed a class action suit anyway. They claimed that Wells Fargo was 
liable for emotional distress (including fear, anxiety and worry), 
negligence, breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty. Forbes and 
Koop claimed that Wells Fargo owed them a cash payout because they had to 
spend extra time monitoring their credit reports.

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