A US lender is facing separate class action lawsuits over a security incident that exposed the personally identifiable information (PII) of thousands of customers.
Plaintiffs in the lawsuits say Centennial Bank suffered a data breach in April 2023, but they allege the lender did not notify affected customers that their PII had been stolen until a year later, reports consumer lawsuit-focused news site Top Class Actions.
According to Centennial Bank’s website, the data security incident occurred between April 6 and 7 last year and the lender completed its review on March 29.
While the bank has not released the exact number of affected customers, a mandatory data breach notification in Washington state shows that 3,044 people were affected in that state alone.
The incident compromised customers’ sensitive information, including full names, social security numbers, dates of birth, driver’s license numbers, bank account numbers and health insurance information.
One lawsuit says Centennial Bank failed to establish a robust security system to protect its customers.
“Defendant failed to adequately protect the PII of Plaintiffs and class members – and even failed to encrypt or redact this highly sensitive information.
This unencrypted, unredacted PII was compromised as a result of Defendant’s intentional, reckless, negligent and/or careless acts and omissions and its total failure to protect customers’ sensitive data.”
Local news site 104.9 The Fox reports that Centennial Bank suffered a massive system-wide shutdown during the April 2023 incident. Customers could not access online banking services or use their cards to withdraw money or pay for goods and services. At the same time, branches of the multibillion-dollar lender were unable to complete withdrawals or take cash deposits, while automatically deducted accounts were rejected. Direct deposit checks for payroll payments also experienced delays.
Centennial Bank has total assets of $22 billion with 222 physical locations in Arkansas, Alabama, Florida, Texas and New York City.
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