U. of Hawaii Settles Lawsuit Over Data Breaches Affecting 98,000 People

The University of Hawaii has settled a class-action lawsuit over a series of wide-scale data breaches by agreeing to provide two years of credit-monitoring and fraud-restoration services at no charge to some 98,000 students, alumni, and faculty and staff members who were affected by the breaches. According to a university news release, the settlement of Gross v. University of Hawaii is subject to the approval of a judge. A lawyer for plaintiffs in the case was quoted in the release as saying the credit services would otherwise cost his clients $5 to $15 per month. The class action, filed in 2010, followed revelations that a retired professor had posted Social Security numbers and other data about more than 40,000 alumni and that hackers had gained access to private records of 53,000 students and employees.