Are Class Actions the Only Solution?

An article in the Washington Post discusses the reasons why 2005 is "the year of the data breach." Mostly just a re-hash of previously-discussed information, but there's an interesting suggestion at the very end.

Thomas F. Holt Jr., an attorney who represents companies involved in breach cases, said he expects things to change when large class-action suits begin to get filed against firms for improperly protecting information.

"When that game is afoot ... companies will begin to redouble their security efforts and reexamine a lot of assumptions they have regarding the gathering and storing of sensitive data," Holt said.