Cybersecurity Class Actions

It was a while in coming, but the first consumer class action lawsuit has been filed against a software company for security flaws in software products. The fact that Microsoft is the defendant is not surprising, given the holes in Windows and the focus of so much of the hacking community on developing worms and viruses that exploit Windows' vulnerabilities. What is surprising is that it has taken so long.

Now that the plaintiffs' class action bar has discovered cybersecurity, the focus in corporate board rooms should increasingly shift to reducing the risks of cyber crime and protecting IT networks against cyber intrusion, since corporate legal exposure is growing rapidly. That's a good thing, as it should help prevent a Chernobyl or Enron-type crisis for cybersecurity. But if companies don't act, the lawyers will end up sticking them where it hurts.

 Posted by glenn