Class-action lawsuit filed following massive Capital One data breach

TAMPA, Fla. (FOX 13) - It's only been a few days since Capital One disclosed a massive data breach that compromised the personal information of more than 100 million people. The banking giant is now being hit with a class-action lawsuit.

Morgan & Morgan filed the class-action suit Tuesday in Virginia where Capital One is based. The legal challenge alleges the company failed to secure its customers' sensitive information.

Capital One announced Monday that personal information dating back as far as 2005 was stolen by a hacker earlier this year. The compromised data includes names, addresses, social security numbers and bank account details.

"If you have a Capital One account or you've been denied credit but submitted an application, your information may have been impacted," said Attorney John Yanchunis with the Morgan & Morgan Class Action Department.

Capital One says it will notify all those affected by the breach.

However, the law firm isn't waiting. Attorneys have already filed the class-action lawsuit seeking to represent every impacted consumer, and hold Capital One accountable.

"Why did the company keep that kind of information? Once you extend credit to someone, then your obligation is defined by that contract with Capital One. Why it kept that information, why it didn't try to better secure it is a question we'll be raising in the lawsuit," Yanchunis said.

Three experts are now investigating the breach for Morgan & Morgan. Yanchunis said other defendants could be added to the suit along with Capital One.

"Those experts are now monitoring activity on the dark web as well as collecting information from other sources to ascertain who is responsible in what way," said Yanchunis.

A former Amazon employee, identified by authorities as Paige Thompson of Seattle, was arrested for the breach. She's accused of breaking into a Capital One server on Amazon's cloud system to swipe the customer information.  

Investigators think the 33-year-old may have hacked customer data from other companies as well. The concern now is if Thompson gave away or sold any of that personal information.

"While some information may be perceived to be non-sensitive, cobbled together with other information it can be very damaging to consumers," explained Yanchunis.

This lawsuit is one of several that have been filed against Capital One for the data breach.