According to court papers filed in the U.S. District Court for Western North Carolina, Duke Energy  settled a class-action complaint over a data breach last year that exposed personalized information to fraudsters.
The Charlotte-based business, The , Charlotte Observer , reported in January that a data breach in May 2024 had an impact on thousands of customers. The lawsuit was filed in December, and direct plaintiff was Matthew Saunders of St. Petersburg, Florida.
The settlement’s words were never made public by the most recent papers. According to the complaint, there were at least 100 class members and claims totaling more than$ 5 million.
Both parties informed the federal court of their agreement in March, and Tuesday’s activities followed. According to court documents, Duke Energy and the company   also reached towns in six other cases involving the data protection event.
According to a shared filing by both factions on Tuesday, Saunders dropped all promises he made against , Duke Energy.
Names, account numbers, letters, Tax IDs and Social Security numbers, court documents show, some of the information that was compromised in the information breach. According to court documents, cybercriminals used the knowledge to sell it to identity thieves.
According to a speech to the Observer from Duke Energy, Valerie Patterson, a spokeswoman, said the claims were unsupported and the business is satisfied that the circumstances have been resolved and dismissed.
Our comprehensive research revealed that no company’s personally identifiable information, as defined by state law, was exposed as we communicated to the clients who were possibly impacted by this incident, Patterson said.
Duke Energy stated that it takes privacy of its customers ‘ information seriously and that it is offering free credit monitoring and identity fraud protection to qualified buyers who may have been impacted by this incident.
We are pleased that many of our users have accepted this offer, Patterson said.
On Thursday, the Observer received requests for comment from both factions ‘ lawyers, but they did not respond.
about the situation involving the data breach at Duke Energy
Defendants ‘ attorneys claimed that Duke Energy lacked adequate security to shield consumers from cyberattacks.
Additionally, they claimed Duke Energy transmitted private information in a way that was “reckless” and that the business used, shared, and maintained it in a “reckless” manner.
Due to the breach, information thieves stole their identities and committed scams. According to court records, this included opening new financial accounts, applying for loans, obtaining government benefits, and obtaining driver’s licenses with victims ‘ names but with different pictures.
Problems arose about criminals committing upcoming offences and victims having to pay for tracking solutions to protect against identity theft.
In December, Duke Energy sent an email to victims of data breaches about the event.
More information about Duke Energy
One of the biggest electricity companies in the nation is Duke Energy. According to Duke Energy’s site, it serves 8.6 million users in the Carolinas,  , Florida,  , Indiana,  , Ohio, and  , Kentucky. In a number of states, it’s natural fuel infrastructure serve an extra 1.7 million.
26 000 people work for the business.
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