Sony reaches settlement with employees in hacking lawsuit

Sony has settled the lawsuit brought by employees and former employees following the large-scale hack in November 2014. Sony will pay up to $10,000 to individuals whose identity information was stolen.

In total, an amount of 8 million dollars, approximately 7 million euros, is involved in the settlement. Of that amount, 3.5 million dollars has been set aside to reimburse the legal costs of the employees who brought the case. Employees who have been victims of credit fraud receive a maximum of 1000 dollars per person, Sony pays a maximum of 2 million dollars to this group. Victims of identity theft will receive a maximum of $10,000, up to a maximum of $2.5 million.

The major hack on Sony Pictures not only exposed a lot of company information, but also personal data and e-mails of employees. At the beginning of September it was already known that a settlement would be reached, but now all amounts have been announced. The settlement has yet to be approved by a judge.

Michael Lynton, CEO of Sony Entertaiment, called the settlement “an important positive step in putting the internet attack behind us.” Kazuo Hirai, the overarching CEO, says Sony Pictures has become “stronger and more resilient” after the hack and, although staff morale was damaged “for a short time,” he said the business impact was small.