CHICAGO – A consumer alleges an online vaping and e-cigarette store had lax cybersecurity policies and failed to take basic security precautions, leading to a data breach that allegedly compromised customer information.
Artur Tyksinski filed a complaint individually and on behalf of similarly situated individuals on Nov. 15 in Cook County Circuit Court against Thesy LLC alleging violation of the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, breach of contract and other counts.
According to the complaint, the defendant, doing business as Element Vape, was the target of a cyber attack in 2018, which resulted in unauthorized access to customers' sensitive and confidential personal information. The plaintiff alleges hackers placed malware in the defendant's system that was not detected for six months and that his information was compromised.
The plaintiff alleges the defendant failed to timely notify affected individuals of the data breach so they could take protective action and failed to maintain procedures to prevent unauthorized access to plaintiffs' confidential information.
The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks judgment against defendant; certify class action; award of actual, statutory, compensatory and punitive damages; injunctive relief; attorney fees; expenses; costs and further relief as the court deems just. He is represented by Myles McGuire, David L. Gerbie and Jad Sheikali of McGuire Law PC in Chicago.
Cook County Circuit Court case number 18-CH-14318