Console & Associates, P.C. Investigates Possible Data Breach Lawsuit Against Farmers Telephone Cooperative Following Recent Data Security Event Affecting More Than 8,000 Individuals

MARLTON, N.J. - Feb. 1, 2022 - PRLog -- CORRECTION: A prior press release was sent with a typographical mistake. It stated that the number of people affected was more than 39,500, but the actual number was 8,000. We apologize for the error.

The law firm of Console & Associates, P.C. announced that it will be investigating the recent Farmers Telephone Cooperative ("FTC") data breach to determine what legal remedies, if any, will be available to consumers affected by the breach. If it turns out that FTC failed to adequately protect individuals' sensitive data from unauthorized access, the company may be financially liable to individuals whose information was compromised as a result of the breach.

A data breach occurs when an unauthorized party gains access to a company's computer networks and the consumer data these networks contain. These security incidents often result from a person hacking into a company's network to remove data or install harmful software on the network.

While a data breach doesn't necessarily mean that the information obtained will be used for criminal purposes, one of the most common reasons hackers conduct cyberattacks is to obtain information that can later be used to commit identity theft.

Often, the data accessed through a breach is either retained by the party orchestrating the cyberattack or sold to another party. In either case, there is no way to be sure what the party in possession of the information plans to do with it, and affected consumers are at an increased risk of experiencing identity theft or other financial losses.

The investigation into the breach is ongoing, but this cybersecurity incident raises serious concerns about the company's efforts to safely store and maintain sensitive consumer data. If it turns out that FTC has in some way mishandled or failed to protect consumer data, affected parties may be eligible for financial compensation through a data breach class action lawsuit.

Attorney Richard Console explains, "It's easy to place all the blame for a data breach on the person who hacks into an organization's system; however, this ignores the legal and moral obligation that these companies owe to customers. When someone gives a company their business, they trust that the information in the organization's possession will remain private—and out of the hands of criminals. While protecting consumer data requires a business to undergo some effort and expense, in our current environment of widespread hacking, this is a cost of doing business that all organizations must take seriously."

According to FTC's data privacy incident notice, on June 30, 2021 the company detected a data security incident on its systems. However, many details about the breach are not yet known, including how the hacker may be intending to use the data that was breached. Further investigation ultimately revealed that the sensitive information of approximately 8,000 individuals was compromised.

The compromised information may have included individuals'

• Name
• Social Security number

1. Carefully review the entire letter;
2. Retain a copy of the data breach notification letter;
3. Enroll in any free credit monitoring or identity fraud protection service provided by the company involved in the data incident;
4. Change all passwords and security questions to online accounts;
5. Frequently review all credit card and bank account statements for any signs of fraud or unauthorized activity;
6. Monitor credit reports for any unexpected changes or signs of identity theft;
7. Contact a credit bureau to request a temporary fraud alert; and
8. Notify all banks and credit card companies of the data breach.