Online shopping is an increasingly popular and convenient alternative to buying items in retail stores. As customers submit their personal data to internet retailers, the companies make a promise that the sensitive information is secured. That is a condition Pennsylvania consumers take very seriously, and so do the online companies that provide them with the goods they want. In an ongoing case of business litigation, a woman is taking internet shoe retailer Zappos.com, and its parent company Amazon.com, to court under claims that the woman was harmed by a recent breach of personal information.

Zappos officials let customers and employees know, in an e-mail, that customer names, e-mail addresses and phone numbers had leaked. The Nevada-based company made it very clear to its customers that no credit card information had been stolen by hackers who illegally gained access to internal servers.

Included with the e-mail notification was an urgent suggestion that customers change their passwords in order to protect themselves against further information theft.

As soon as one day after the incident was reported, the claimant filed a class-action lawsuit against the shoe retailer. The company is being sued for its supposed negligence leading to the information leak.

Zappos lawyers have refrained from commenting, staying true to company policy regarding pending litigation.

In an age when identity theft is a major problem, consumers have a right to be concerned. However, it seems as though Amazon and Zappos are following company policy, as they notified their customers that there was a problem as soon as it happened; the company is doing what it can in response to an unexpected breach in their electronic defenses. As hackers improve their ability to steal personal information, companies will continue to explore all their options to demonstrate their commitment to protecting customers.

Source: The Chicago Tribune, "Customer data breach draws federal lawsuit against Nevada-based Zappos, parent company Amazon," Ken Ritter, Jan. 18, 2012