MARLTON, N.J. – Dec. 29, 2021 – PRLog — The team of lawyers at Console & Associates, P.C. is looking into potential remedies for consumers impacted by a recent Arthur J. Gallagher & Company data breach. If evidence emerges that Arthur J. Gallagher & Company mishandled consumer information leading up to the breach, affected parties may be eligible to join a data breach class action lawsuit against the company.

Data breaches such as those announced by Arthur J. Gallagher & Company pose a significant threat to consumer privacy, and increase the risk of identity theft for anyone whose information was compromised. Certainly, businesses are not solely responsible for a data breach because these cyberattacks involve the criminal actions of a third party. However, companies have a legal responsibility to take certain precautions regarding the personal, identifying and financial information of consumers in their possession.

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

The Arthur J. Gallagher & Company data breach is unique in that it involves several breaches, all of which may be related. On September 26, 2020, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. first detected that a third party hacked into their network and installed ransomware on some of the company’s internal systems. Upon further investigation, the company determined that an unauthorized party accessed and potentially acquired consumer data stored on the company’s network between June 3, 2020 and September 26, 2020. This compromised information varies according to the individual, however, it may include their full name, mailing address, Social Security number, driver’s license number, credit card number, debit card number, and other financial information. In September 2021, they sent out seven different data breach notifications to affected parties. In total, the number of affected parties exceeds two million; however, the number of unique parties may be lower if certain people received multiple letters

If it turns out that the company failed to maintain adequate measures to protect consumer data, those who received a data breach notification letter from Arthur J. Gallagher & Company could pursue financial compensation through a class action lawsuit.

In the meantime, anyone who received a data breach letter from Arthur J. Gallagher & Company should take the following steps to protect themselves:

1.) Read the entire data breach letter to determine what information was accessible to the unauthorized third party;

2.) Retain a copy of the data breach notification;

3.) Sign up for the free credit monitoring service offered by Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.;

4.) Change passwords to all online accounts;

5.) Regularly check their credit card and bank statements for any signs unauthorized activity;

6.) Carefully monitor their credit report for any unexpected changes;

7.) Request one of the three major credit bureaus add a fraud alert to their account; and

8.) Notify all banks and credit card companies of the data breach.

To learn more, please visit https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/consumer-data-breach-alert-arthur-j-6322834/.

Console & Associates, P.C. is dedicated to protecting consumer privacy. The firm regularly investigates data breaches, ransomware attacks and other cybercrimes in an effort to hold corporations accountable for abusing the trust consumers place in them. Console & Associates, P.C. can be reached through the firm’s website at https://www.myinjuryattorney.com/consumer-privacy-data-breach-lawyers/.