Judge OKs Sony Settlement In Class-Action Lawsuit Over Massive 2014 Data Breach
LOS ANGELES (CBS/AP) -- A judge has approved a multimillion dollar settlement in a class-action lawsuit filed by former Sony Pictures Entertainment employees whose private information was stolen in a massive data breach in 2014.
U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner ruled Wednesday on the agreement that gives roughly 437,000 people impacted by the breach identity theft protection through 2017. In 2015, Sony tried to have the lawsuit dismissed in 2015, but the motion was denied.
Hackers calling themselves Guardians of Peace took credit for the cyberattack, which exposed thousands of emails, documents and sensitive personal information, including medical records.
The highly sensitive personal information about current and former Sony Entertainment employees was stolen and posted online. Among the documents were emails between high-level Sony executives about casting decisions for upcoming films and sensitive corporate financial records.
The U.S. government blamed North Korea. Suspicions swirled the hack was in retaliation for the pending release of Sony's satirical comedy "The Interview" starring Seth Rogan and James Franko. The plot involved the assassination of Kim Jong Un. Sony later cancelled the Christmas day release of the film. There was a limited release of the movie later.
The whistleblower website WikiLeaks posted the leaked emails and documents, exposing embarrassing emails between producer Scott Rudin and then company co-chair Amy Pascal assessing Angelina Jolie's talent and Barack Obama's taste in movies.
An exact value of the settlement is not yet available.
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