Community Bank Association Sues Equifax Over Cybersecurity Breach

The Independent Community Bankers of America ("ICBA") filed a class-action lawsuit against Equifax in connection with its recent cybersecurity breach. The breach exposed the private information (including the names, Social Security numbers and dates of birth) of over 145 million consumers. The Complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. ICBA alleged that Equifax failed to take appropriate steps to safeguard customer data.

ICBA claimed that the breach resulted from Equifax' failure to implement effective cybersecurity and data protection measures. This failure, ICBA alleged, was evidenced by the fact that the breach was not detected for more than two months, in spite of red flags that should have alerted Equifax. By failing to protect customer data, ICBA said, Equifax caused significant financial damage to ICBA members that were forced to cancel and replace customer payment cards, cover fraudulent purchases, and take