Customers of Israel's three credit card companies have filed a NIS 75 million lawsuit with the Tel Aviv District Court over the Saudi hacker scandal, and have petitioned the court to recognize the lawsuit as a class-action suit. The respondents are Isracard Ltd., Leumi Card Ltd., and Israel Credit Cards-Cal Ltd. (ICC-Cal) (Visa), as well as Double Computers and Internet Ltd.
The petitioners contend that Double Computers and Internet is responsible for managing databases of several of the e-commerce and coupon sites which were hacked, leading to the disclosure of thousands of credit card customers' details. They accuse the company of not properly protecting the information in its possession against hacking and the disclosure of people's data, in violation of the Database Law.
The petitioners contend that the three credit card companies allowed websites operated by Double Computers to clear transactions, resulting in false presentations that the e-commerce sites were secure, and that the details of persons would be kept secure and confidential. In practice, the petitioners contend that the credit card companies failed to apply supervisory mechanisms against cyber attacks, resulting in the e-commerce having no reasonable or effective protection.
The petitioners contend that, as result of the hacking and the disclosure of their personal details - such as names, ID numbers, and addresses - online, even if their credit cards were not billed for any transactions, are liable to be used in future by hostile parties, either criminal or national, resulting in malicious harm.
The request for recognition as a class-action suit joins an earlier NIS 1.3 billion request filed on January 5 against ICC-Cal, Double Computers and Internet, and EZpayment Ltd. This lawsuit is based on reports that ICC-Cal's database was hacked by various unsophisticated methods, and personal private information was exposed to the world in hostile countries. The lawsuit contends that ICC had the duty to verify that information in its possession was secure, and it is responsible for any damage caused to credit card owners. The lawsuit also contends that both Double Computers and EZpayment were negligent in protecting the databases in their possession.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on January 22, 2012
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