(Photo By Ricardo Rubio/Europa Press via Getty Images)
ATLANTA - A Georgia customer has filed a proposed class-action lawsuit against Southern Company over a data breach that exposed information connected to about 400,000 utility accounts, according to Law360.com. The complaint was filed Oct. 21 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. It is at least the third proposed class-action complaint filed in federal court this month that names Southern Company in connection with the incident.
What we know:
The plaintiff alleges Southern Company failed to adequately protect customer information, including by not using stronger encryption and by failing to better identify potential threats. The lawsuit seeks several types of damages, as well as attorney fees and court costs, and requests a jury trial. The allegations have not been proven in court.
Southern Company disclosed the incident in early October. The Atlanta-based energy company said an unauthorized third party accessed limited information about certain customer accounts through its online customer portal. About 300,000 affected accounts were associated with Georgia Power and about 100,000 with Alabama Power. Mississippi Power was also named in the company’s notice, but a separate account total was not provided.
What information was involved
What they're saying:
The company said information accessed may include customers’ names, mailing addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, the last four digits of Social Security numbers and other basic account details. Southern Company said bank account numbers, payment card numbers and driver’s license numbers were not accessed. A report cited by ClassAction.org also said the last four digits of business tax identification numbers may have been involved.
Southern Company said it notified law enforcement and is investigating the incident. Customers whose information was accessed are being contacted by mail or email and offered one year of free credit monitoring through Equifax. The company said it has not found evidence of continued unauthorized access.
Separately, attorneys working with ClassAction.org are investigating whether another class-action lawsuit can be filed and are asking people who believe their information was exposed to contact them.