Penalty Amount
$1,500,000
Consumers Affected
370,000
Neiman Marcus settled a multi-state investigation over a 2013 data breach that compromised payment card data of approximately 370,000 consumers nationwide, including 17,000 in New Jersey. The company agreed to pay $1.5 million and implement enhanced cybersecurity measures such as PCI compliance, network monitoring, and regular security assessments.
Neiman Marcus must pay $1.5 million, comply with PCI Data Security Standard, maintain network activity monitoring with suspicious activity flagging, keep software updated, review and adopt new payment technologies like chip and PIN, maintain consultant independence, and undergo regular information security assessments available to states.
In-house legal teams should review vendor agreements, especially those involving payment processing, data storage, or IT services, to ensure clauses mandate PCI DSS compliance, continuous network monitoring with anomaly detection, regular independent security assessments, and policies for timely software updates and adoption of advanced payment card technologies like chip and PIN. Customer agreements should incorporate explicit data breach notification timelines and standards for safeguarding cardholder data. Employee agreements may require updates to enforce security protocols. Contracts must also specify the independence of security consultants from forensic auditors to prevent conflicts of interest during breach investigations.
Entity
Neiman Marcus
Industry
Retail"Neiman Marcus"
"$1.5 million"
"failed to protect the personal information of shoppers who made in-store purchases using payment cards"
$18.0M
Attorney General Jennifer Davenport joined a bipartisan coalition of 42 attorneys general in announcing a settlement with the bankruptcy trustee for 23andMe, resolving allegations from a 2023 data breach that compromised genetic data of 6.9 million people worldwide, including nearly 150,000 in New Jersey. The settlement provides $18 million to states from available bankruptcy funds, plus enhanced data security and consumer deletion rights for the successor entity, 23andMe Research Institute.
$45.0M
Block, Inc. agreed to a $45 million multistate settlement with 46 states for allegedly misleading consumers about the safety of Cash App, failing to protect users from fraud, and not providing promised fraud protection. The settlement requires Block to improve customer support, stop misleading claims, and educate consumers about fraud.
Attorney General Jennifer Davenport co-led a coalition of 49 attorneys general in calling on the FCC to strengthen rules to cut off scammers' access to legitimate telephone numbers. The coalition's letter requests stronger certification rules, regular reporting, and prohibitions on number cycling to combat illegal robocalls.
Governor Sherrill and Attorney General Davenport announced coordinated executive actions to reduce and eliminate junk fees in New Jersey. The initiative includes an Executive Order directing state agencies to review industries for junk fees and an Enforcement Statement from the Division of Consumer Affairs explaining how junk fee practices may violate the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act.
The New Jersey Bureau of Securities announced its 2026 annual investment adviser examination, with a particular focus on firms' use of artificial intelligence and cybersecurity protocols. The examination requires nearly 800 registered investment adviser firms to answer questions about AI use in portfolio management, data protection policies, and third-party vendor due diligence. Failure to comply may result in administrative action.
The New Jersey Bureau of Securities filed a lawsuit against Xiao Hu (aka Mark Hu) and his companies Skyline Technology USA LLC and Thunderbirds.ME, Inc. for allegedly defrauding at least 15 investors out of $2.5 million through unregistered securities offerings. Hu allegedly misappropriated at least $280,000 for personal expenses including a home purchase and vacation, and falsely claimed to have a Ph.D. from Columbia University.