September 23, 2024
College student data company National Student Clearinghouse has agreed to pay nearly $10 million to exit multidistrict litigation stemming from the 2023 hack of Progress Software’s MOVEit file transfer tool.
The deal, outlined in a Massachusetts federal court filing Friday, would resolve claims in a November 2023 class action filed in Virginia federal court that lax security practices by National Student Clearinghouse and Progress Software allowed the ransomware cybercriminals to steal the Social Security numbers and personal information of about 1.5 million people.
National Student Clearinghouse, based in Herndon, Virginia, operates as a service provider to higher education clients and receives data from the schools.
The settlement would create a $9.95 million fund that would pay class members for two years of credit monitoring, plus either accounted losses from the breach of up to $12,500 or a cash payment of $100, which could be increased or decreased depending on the number of claims made.
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Evangelista is represented by Kristen A. Johnson of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, E. Michelle Drake of Berger Montague PC, Gary F. Lynch of Lynch Carpenter LLP, Douglas J. McNamara of Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC, Karen H. Riebel of Lockridge Grindal Nauen PLLP, and Charles E. Schaffer.