Hightower Advisors' parent company reported a recently discovered data breach that affected 131,483 people, according to the Maine attorney general's website.
A former Hightower employee filed a class-action lawsuit against the firm in U.S. district court in Chicago on Tuesday — a day after the firm notified affected individuals — saying the breach caused him and others irreparable harm, leaving the plaintiff and other class members unable to control their private information and at greater risk for identity theft.
Hightower Holding is offering identity theft protection to those exposed to the Jan. 8 breach and notified them Monday, a notice on the site says. The company discovered the incident March 12, according to the notice.
Hightower had no comment on the breach, a spokesperson for the firm said via email Tuesday.
Several law firms announed this week they're investigating the breach for potential litigation.
Hightower discovered Jan. 9 that a compromised user account led to unauthorized access to its systems, then secured its network and investigated, helped by outside experts, and found that files with sensitive personal information were downloaded without permission Jan. 8-9, according to its notification to the Maine attorney general's office.
The firm said it notified affected people on Monday.
Hightower waited over three months to publicly disclose the breach, the lawsuit states.
"Defendant owed Plaintiff and Class Members a duty to take all reasonable and necessary measures to keep the Private Information collected safe and secure from unauthorized access. Defendant solicited, collected, used, and derived a benefit from the Private Information, yet breached their duty by failing to implement or maintain adequate security practices," the suit contends.
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