Computerworld - A California law firm has filed a class-action suit charging Fidelity National Information Services (FIS) and one of its subsidiaries with negligence in connection with a data breach that exposed personal data of as many as 8.5 million people.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in California, also accuses the Jacksonville, Fla.-based transaction processor and outsourcer and its Certegy Check Services subsidiary of invasion of privacy and breach of implied contract.
The suit does not seek specific damages.
The complaint was filed by San Francisco-based Girard Gibbs LLP on behalf of the 8.5 million consumers.
A spokesman for FIS and Certegy, which provides check-verification services to retail firms, did not respond to a request for comment on the suit.
Fidelity National, which is not affiliated with well-known financial firm Fidelity Investments, disclosed last month that a Certegy senior database administrator had illegally accessed and downloaded millions of consumer records and then sold them to data brokers.
The company first estimated that about 2.3 million records were affected but quickly boosted that number to 8.5 million in filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Eric Gibbs, an attorney at Girard Gibbs, contended that Fidelity National didnt notify consumers of the theft in a timely and adequate manner. He also alleged that the companies failed to properly monitor and supervise the activities of employees entrusted with consumer data.
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