Class Action Alleges Nationwide Retirement Solutions Failed to Prevent 2022 Data Breach

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A proposed class action alleges Nationwide Retirement Solutions failed to prevent a data breach that compromised the personally identifiable information of approximately 1,600 customers.

The 28-page case alleges that Nationwide Retirement Solutions’ failure to implement adequate cybersecurity measures allowed cybercriminals to access the company’s network for an unknown duration of time until at least September 3, 2022. The filing argues that the breach exposed the full names, dates of birth, email and physical addresses, gender, phone numbers, and Social Security numbers of over 1,600 prospective, current and former customers.

The suit claims that Nationwide, who provides retirement, investment and insurance services, did not have the security measures in place to detect the data breach as it occurred, and instead learned of the attack from a September 3 email in which an anonymous source “claim[ed] to have acquired certain personal information about [the company’s customers].” On September 12, 2022, Nationwide began to notify impacted individuals that their data had been compromised and offered two years of Equifax Complete Premier credit monitoring and identity theft protection, the filing relays.

Per the complaint, Nationwide’s privacy policy states that the company will use “[p]hysical and technical means…to ensure the security and confidentiality of [its customers] information.” The case alleges that Nationwide has breached its contractual promise to protect its customers’ data by failing to take appropriate action to maintain consumer confidentiality.

Additionally, although Nationwide’s privacy and security policy relays that the company complies with state and federal laws regarding data security, Nationwide has made its system vulnerable to hackers by overlooking the Federal Trade Commission’s cybersecurity guidelines for businesses, the suit argues.

The complaint alleges that data breach victims now face a significant risk of identity theft and the associated “monetary losses, lost time, anxiety, and emotional distress.” The plaintiff, a customer who has been enrolled in a Nationwide retirement plan for the past 25 years, has already experienced identity theft in the form of a fraudulent transaction made on her credit card around September 19, 2022, the case asserts.

Moreover, the lawsuit explains that hackers can cross-reference different sources of stolen personal data to create a full set of information about an individual, known as a “Fullz” package.

The lawsuit looks to covers all individuals whose personally identifiable information was compromised as a result of the Nationwide data breach that occurred in or around September 2022.

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