• March 2024 •

Stanford University Data Breach

Last Updated on March 18, 2024

If you received a notice that your information was compromised, you may be able to start a class action to collect money for the harm you’ve suffered.

• Keep reading for more information

At A Glance

What's Going On?: Attorneys need to hear from people affected by the Stanford University data breach as they investigate whether a class action lawsuit can be filed.
What You Can Do: If you got a letter or email about the breach, fill out the form on this page to learn more about the investigation and how you can help.
Does This Cost Anything?: It costs nothing to get in touch or to talk to someone about your rights.
What Can I Get?: If filed and successful, a class action lawsuit could provide consumers with money for any harm resulting from the breach.

Stanford University Data Breach:

Lawsuit Investigation

Attorneys working with ClassAction.org are looking into whether a class action lawsuit can be filed in light of the Stanford University data breach.

As part of their investigation, they need to hear from individuals who received a notice stating they were impacted.

Stanford University is sending notice letters to thousands of individuals who may have had their data exposed in a months-long data breach that took place last year.

On September 27, 2023, Stanford discovered that its Department of Public Safety had fallen victim to a ransomware attack. An investigation was launched and revealed that the department's network had been accessed by an unauthorized party between May 12 and September 27, 2023. Notice letters are now being sent to individuals whose information was potentially exposed, as well as parents of minors affected by the breach. Approximately 27,000 people have been impacted, and ransomware group Akira has reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack.

A notice posted on the university's website states that information including birthdates, Social Security numbers, driver's license and passport numbers, and government IDs may have been exposed. A "small number of individuals" may have also had their medical information, biometric data, email address and password, username and password, security questions and answers, credit card information and digital signature exposed.

Stanford originally reported the cyberattack in October 2023, but said in its data breach letters that the "nature and scope of the incident required time to analyze."

If your information was exposed in the breach, attorneys want to hear from you. You may be able to start a class action lawsuit to recover compensation for loss of privacy, time spent dealing with the breach, out-of-pocket costs, and more.

A successful case could also force Stanford University to ensure it takes proper steps to protect the information it was entrusted with.