Breach Victims Have Standing When Data Misused, 1st Circuit Says

A data-breach victim whose personal information was subject to actual misuse has standing to sue the entity that suffered the breach, a federal appeals court said.

Plaintiff Alexsis Webb plausibly alleged an injury-in-fact sufficient to confer standing to sue Injured Workers Pharmacy Inc. based on her allegation that information stolen from the home-delivery pharmacy was used to file a fraudulent tax return, Judge Sandra L. Lynch of the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit said Friday.

Webb and co-plaintiff Marsclette Charley also plausibly alleged injury based on an imminent and substantial risk of future harm from the breach, ...