Accidental email results in sharing Social Security numbers of Seyfarth Shaw clients, opposing parties
In August, Seyfarth Shaw discovered that a “limited number” of documents with personal information were emailed to an unauthorized recipient, according to a draft letter that the law firm shared with the California attorney general’s office. (Image by Shutterstock)
In August, Seyfarth Shaw discovered that a “limited number” of documents with personal information were emailed to an unauthorized recipient, according to a draft letter that the law firm shared with the California attorney general’s office.
The data included Social Security numbers, according to the document. At least 300 people were affected, and notice was also sent to the Texas attorney general’s office, Law360 reports.
“Seyfarth experienced a targeted social engineering attack in which someone impersonating our IT help desk deceived an employee into emailing a limited number of client documents to an unauthorized outside email account,” the firm said in a statement.
“Protecting the confidential information our clients entrust to us is among our highest responsibilities, and we are taking this matter very seriously” the statement read.
According to DataBreachRights, a website that tracks and shares data breaches, as well as offers free case reviews, the data belonged to clients and opposing parties.
The firm is adding more employee training and awareness notifications and offering those whose data was shared free access to credit monitoring and reporting, according to its draft letter.
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