Sony Pictures to Pay Millions in Hacking Lawsuit

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Sony Pictures Entertainment has reached a settlement to resolve a proposed class-action lawsuit brought by former employees who said the company did not sufficiently protect their personal information in the wake of last year’s cyberattack.

Both parties announced last month they had reached an agreement. The hack was blamed on North Korea and forced Sony to change its release plans for “The Interview,” a comedy about a plot to assassinate North Korea’s leader.

Under the terms of the settlement, filed Monday in Federal District Court in Los Angeles, Sony will provide each employee with free identity protection services through AllClear ID through 2017. The services will include credit monitoring, phone alerts and identity theft insurance coverage of $1 million, according to court documents.

Cash payments will also be made to former employees through a $2 million fund for “unreimbursed expenses they incurred and time they spent taking preventive measures to protect themselves from identity theft” as a result of the cyberattack, according to court documents. Each claimant will be able to recover up to $1,000 as long as they can provide documentation.

Sony will also pay up to $2.5 million – as much as $10,000 to each person – to those who had losses resulting from identity theft that related to the hack.

The lawyers for the plaintiffs will also receive around $3.5 million in attorneys’ fees and expenses. Altogether, Sony’s bill will come to around $8 million.

Sony Pictures Entertainment did not return requests for comment.

The settlement must be approved by the court.

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