Sony Pictures Entertainment now faces two lawsuits from four former employees who claim the company did not do enough to prevent hackers from stealing nearly 50,000 social security numbers, salary details and other personal information from current and former workers. The lawsuits seek to gain class-action status on behalf of those employees whose private data, including medical records, have been released by hackers in recent weeks. Two employees sued Sony in federal court on Monday, alleging the company failed to secure its computer systems despite "weaknesses that it has known about for years," and instead made a business decision to accept the risk. It contends that the latest data breaches are especially "surprising and egregious" because Sony Pictures has been repeatedly attacked over the years, including a 2011 hack that revealed millions of user accounts on Sony's PlayStation video-game network.
On Tuesday, two former movie production workers sued Sony in Los Angeles Superior Court, claiming the company waited too long to notify employees that their data had been stolen. The case filed by Susan Dukow and Yvonne Yaconelli alleges Sony violated California laws meant to protect sensitive financial and medical information. Dukow worked on several Sony films between 1993 and 2004, including "Jerry Maguire," "Spider-Man" and "Charlie's Angels II." Yaconelli worked as a production manager on Sony films between 2001 and 2011 including "Riding in Cars with Boys," "The Green Hornet," and "The Smurfs 3D." Both women worked on "Spider-Man II," according to the lawsuit. A Sony representative declined comment on the lawsuits.
IN-DEPTH
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