BOSTON – Partner Kristen A. Johnson at consumer-rights law firm Hagens Berman was named to the leadership team in the Progress Software MOVEit data-breach class action, the largest data breach lawsuit in the history of multidistrict litigation.

On Jan. 19, 2024, U.S. District Judge Allison D. Burroughs for the District of Massachusetts appointed the Leadership Team representing a proposed class of consumers against Progress Software after it allegedly negligently led to the compromised sensitive personal information of an estimated 40 million individuals.

Next, the team will propose a case schedule including deadlines for discovery, during which information will be gathered to determine the full depth and scope of the MOVEit data breach.

Data compromised in the 2023 MOVEit data breach includes contact information, dates of birth, social security numbers, pension information, medical records, billing data and banking information. More than 600 organizations were reportedly hacked, including banks, schools and government agencies.

Since the announcement of the data breach, Hagens Berman's data breach litigation team has filed class-action lawsuits against 36 defendants including Bank of America, Fidelity Investments, TD Ameritrade and many other major institutions, pensions and other organizations.

Judge Burroughs interviewed 49 applicants for leadership positions. Ms. Johnson was named Liaison and Coordinating Counsel.

“The sheer magnitude of this case is frankly unprecedented,” said Ms. Johnson, partner at Hagens Berman and attorney leading the lawsuits against Progress. “We look forward to coordinating with the rest of the Leadership Team to pursue this litigation in the most efficient and thorough manner possible for the benefit of the millions of individuals whose sensitive information is now compromised.”

“Those affected suffered incredible damage to their privacy, and we intend to hold responsible parties to account,” said Hagens Berman Partner Sean Matt, a key member of the firm’s legal team.

According to the lawsuit, in June 2023, hackers from the well-known Russian cybergang, Clop, discovered a security vulnerability in MOVEit, a managed file transfer software owned by Progress Software used by many organizations to store, manage and distribute information. Progress markets MOVEit as a software that “guarantees the security of sensitive files both at -rest and in-transit,” and promises data security compliance.

The vulnerability had existed since 2021, according to the lawsuit, but was never rectified due to Progress’s alleged negligence, and hackers were able to exploit this vulnerability and gain access to sensitive personal data collected by organizations that used the software, the lawsuit states.

Because many of the organizations impacted by the data breach handle data on behalf of others, who in turn received that data from third parties, the security vulnerability discovered in the MOVEit software and Progress’s mismanagement of its data allowed hackers to slip past the defenses of a vast, interconnected web of companies and institutions.

Attorneys say Progress failed those whose data it stored in several key manners, including its failure to monitor and maintain basic network safeguards, failing to maintain adequate data retention policies, not training staff on data security, failing to comply with industry standards of data security, and failing to encrypt users’ private Information, among other shortcomings that led to the compromised information of tens of millions of people.

Find out more about Hagens Berman’s lawsuits on behalf of those impacted by the MOVEit data breach.

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About Hagens Berman
Hagens Berman is a global plaintiffs’ rights complex litigation law firm with a tenacious drive for achieving real results for those harmed by corporate negligence and fraud. Since its founding in 1993, the firm’s determination has earned it numerous national accolades, awards and titles of “Most Feared Plaintiff’s Firm,” MVPs and Trailblazers of class-action law. More about the law firm and its successes can be found at www.hbsslaw.com. Follow the firm for updates and news at @ClassActionLaw.

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