Court Tosses Data Breach Lawsuit, Refusing to Make ‘Analytical Jumps by Speculating’ Standing

A district court judge in Virginia looked to two recent federal appellate decisions when concluding a U.S. Army veteran did not have standing to sue his insurance provider for a ransomware attack because there was no evidence to show that his personal identifying information had been stolen or used.

Plaintiff Artur Podroykin sued his life insurance provider, American Armed Forces Mutual Aid Association, in a multi-claim action filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Podroykin claimed a ransomware group known as “DarkSide” gained access to AAFMAA’s computer systems and executed a ransomware attack by encrypting collections of highly sensitive files in January 2021, according to the opinion filed Tuesday.