Data Breach Damages Expert Witness
We assess consumer harm and damages from data breaches — a direct extension of our credit and consumer-data expertise.
After a breach, the questions are what was exposed, what harm followed, and whether that harm can be traced to this breach rather than to others. We have been retained in data-breach class actions — including as Sony Pictures Entertainment's expert in Corona v. Sony Pictures (C.D. Cal.), brought by former employees after the 2014 hack — bringing two decades of research on consumer data and credit to the damages question.
Questions we address
- ◆What data was exposed, and what does that type of data actually enable — new-account fraud, account takeover, or neither?
- ◆Can alleged fraud or credit harm be traced to this breach, given the many prior breaches affecting the same consumers?
- ◆Did the breach affect credit reports or scores, and if so, how?
- ◆What do credit monitoring, freezes, and fraud alerts cost, and what mitigation has already been provided?
- ◆Can damages be measured on a class-wide basis, or is injury individualized?
What we analyze
- ◆The composition of the exposed data and its usefulness for identity theft.
- ◆Base rates of identity theft and fraud in the population, as a benchmark for claimed harm.
- ◆Credit-file evidence: new accounts, inquiries, and derogatory items, and their timing relative to the breach.
- ◆Damages theories and models, including their assumptions, inputs, and sensitivity.
Selected data-breach matters
- ◆Corona v. Sony Pictures Entertainment (C.D. Cal.)
- ◆Sheffler v. Americold Realty Trust (N.D. Ga.)
A full list of matters is available on request.
Two economists who explain credit data to judges and juries.
What does a data breach damages expert do?
A data breach damages expert evaluates what the exposed data could be used for, whether claimed fraud or credit harm can be traced to the breach, what mitigation costs are reasonable, and whether a proposed damages model can measure harm across a class.
Why is causation difficult in data-breach cases?
Most consumers' personal information has been exposed in more than one breach. Linking a particular fraud event to a particular breach requires evidence about what data was taken, how it could be used, and when harm appeared.
Bring us in early.
The most consequential credit matters turn on how scores and reports actually work. Tell us about yours.
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