Ken Dort Discusses the Historic Equifax Breach Settlement

Chicago partner Ken Dort was quoted on Equifax’s landmark settlement stemming from its 2017 data breach by media sources Axios, Law360, and SC Magazine. On July 22, 2019, Equifax agreed to pay up to $700 million to settle a breach that affected 147 million Americans and includes as much as $425 million for individual compensation.

In the July 25, 2019, Axios newsletter article “Unpacking the Equifax Settlement,” Ken addressed the important question of whether this settlement’s bite will carry over to future breaches. “There’s a really good chance the new reimbursement scheme will be the new standard,” he replied.

For the Law360 article titled “Historic Equifax Breach Deal Won't End Privacy Law Debate,” Ken discussed the lessons learned from Equifax and said, “A takeaway for most businesses is to have in place proactive security protocols so they can minimize the risk of any kind of breach happening, and in the event of an incident, they can jump on it expeditiously and respond to it appropriately.”

Ken also was quoted in SC Magazine’s article “Equifax to Pay Up to $425 million for Breach in FTC Settlement.” Ken stated that not only does the settlement showcase “the intense interest all governmental entities have in data security – note the wide scope of authorities involved in the settlement − it also reveals the math supporting the calculations used to reach the size of the consumer fund and the governmental fines, and thus the high levels of exposure all companies now face with respect to data security, and the importance of proactive cybersecurity actions by all companies.”