Court: FTC can bring down the hammer on companies with sloppy cybersecurity

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has the authority to take action against companies that fail to protect customer data, an appeals court ruled Monday.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit upheld the FTC’s 2012 lawsuit against hotel and time-share operator Wyndham Worldwide. The FTC filed a complaint against Wyndham for three data breaches in 2008 and 2009 that led to more than US $10.6 million in fraudulent charges. 

The appeals court ruling, upholding a 2014 district court decision, suggests the FTC can hold companies responsible for failing to use reasonable security practices.

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