Judge OKs Settlement with GitHub in Class Action Over Capital One Data Breach

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A judge has approved a settlement between GitHub and plaintiffs who claim their information was hacked during a Capital One data breach and posted on the development platform.

Details of the settlement aren’t available, but the agreement resolves the plaintiffs’ claims against only one of several defendants.

The class action lawsuit, filed by lead plaintiffs Rina Del Giudice and Daniel Wood, alleged Paige Thompson, an Amazon computer programmer, hacked the database of Capital One Financial Corp., Capital One Bank (Canada Branch), Capital One (Services) Canada Inc., Capital One N.A., Capital One Bank (USA) N.A. (known collectively “Capital One”). These entities also have been named as defendants in the class action, as have Amazon Web Services Inc. and Amazon Web Services (Canada) Inc.

After hacking the Capital One database, Thompson then allegedly misappropriated the information obtained to mine for cryptocurrency and posted unencrypted data on GitHub.

GitHub, a subsidiary of Microsoft, is an online forum for developers to create and share software. The site hosts more than 65 million developers.

The class action lawsuit, filed in August 2019, did not originally include GitHub as a defendant; however, an Amended Statement of Claim filed in 2020 added the company.

GitHub’s counsel sent a written settlement offer April 6, 2021, that would release the company from the case in Ontario — GitHub does not have an Ontario office — and the plaintiffs accepted.

Court documents show Class counsel believes the settlement with GitHub will allow the case against the remaining defendants to proceed more efficiently.

An affidavit from Class counsel indicates GitHub was named as a defendant in two U.S. actions related to the same data breach at issue in the Ontario class action, but was released from those actions and is no longer a defendant.

“In the case at bar, I am satisfied that the settlement with GitHub is fair and reasonable and in the best interests of the Class Members,” Judge J. Perell wrote. “The settlement is approved. I have signed the Order.”

Do you believe your information might have been compromised or posted to GitHub during the Capital One data breach? Let us know in the comment section below.

The plaintiff is represented by John A. Campion, R. Douglas Elliott, Hugh Scher, Jeff Childs, Darrel Hotz, and Glyn Hotz.

The Capital One Data Breach Class Action Lawsuit is Rina Del Giudice, et al. v. Paige A. Thompson, et al., Court File No. CV-19-00625030-00CP, in the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario.

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