• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 

2

Despite a $500 million net worth, Shaq just finished his fourth degree. He warns graduates: 'Your character will take you further than your resume'

3

Meet a 21-year-old community college student who's going to China as the first American woman welder in the trades Olympics

1

Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 

2

Despite a $500 million net worth, Shaq just finished his fourth degree. He warns graduates: 'Your character will take you further than your resume'

3

Meet a 21-year-old community college student who's going to China as the first American woman welder in the trades Olympics
sony pictures

Ex-Sony Pictures employees file lawsuit over hack, exposed personal info

By
Tom Huddleston Jr.
Tom Huddleston Jr.
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Tom Huddleston Jr.
Tom Huddleston Jr.
Down Arrow Button Icon
December 16, 2014, 2:10 PM ET
An entrance gate to Sony Pictures Entertainment at the Sony Pictures lot is pictured in Culver City
An entrance gate to Sony Pictures Entertainment at the Sony Pictures lot is pictured in Culver City, California April 14, 2013. REUTERS/Fred Prouser (UNITED STATES - Tags: ENTERTAINMENT BUSINESS LOGO) - RTXYLQTPhotograph by Fred Prouser — Reuters

The ongoing fallout from last month’s cyber attack at Sony Pictures Entertainment continues this week as two former employees are suing the company after their personal information was exposed as part of the high-profile hack.

Michael Corona and Christina Mathis haven’t worked for Sony Pictures for years, but the former employees both claim that their sensitive personal information — including their names, Social Security numbers, former addresses and other info — was made public in the past month due to “security weaknesses in Sony’s Network.” That’s according to a lawsuit the two filed on Monday in California federal court in which they claim Sony Pictures failed in its legal duty to protect the personal information of current and former employees affected by the hack.

A group identifying itself as Guardians of Peace, or GOP, shut down Sony Pictures’ computer system just before Thanksgiving and have been releasing sensitive company documents on the Internet in subsequent weeks. The hackers posted documents revealing salary information and personal identifying information for thousands of the company’s employees along with other confidential financial documents and passwords for company accounts and computer systems. Over the past few weeks, the hackers have also leaked a mountain of embarrassing e-mail correspondence involving Sony executives — to the point that the company has asked the media to stop publishing excerpts from the once-private messages.

In their lawsuit, Corona and Mathis claim that their personal information was included in the documents the hackers revealed to the world, despite the fact that Corona left the company in 2007 and Mathis has not worked there for 12 years. (The complaint does not specify what the plaintiffs’ roles at Sony were, though it notes that Corona worked for Sony Pictures Entertainment while Mathis was employed by the company’s consumer products arm.) Both Corona and Mathis claim that the release of their information has forced them to spend hundreds of dollars on identity theft protection.

TIME’s Sam Frizell wrote last week about the possibility of employee lawsuits against Sony Pictures, noting that the company’s defense in such a legal action would hinge on whether the company could prove it took the appropriate steps to protect its employees’ personal data.

Monday’s lawsuit alleges that Sony Pictures failed to improve its security after what it describes as a history of data breaches. The suit refers to the 2011 hack of Sony’s PlayStation Network and calls the company “a longstanding and frequent target for hackers.” The complaint also references a recent Gizmodo report that Sony Pictures’ own corporate audit department warned the company about problems with its IT security just months before the November hack. Despite the alleged risk Sony Pictures faced, the company “made a business decision” to not step up its security, the lawsuit claims.

The plaintiffs are asking the court to certify the lawsuit as a class action, which would allow other current and former Sony Pictures employees to join the lawsuit. Corona and Mathis are seeking various damages from Sony Pictures, including at least $1,000 for each class member eventually attached to the lawsuit. They also want the company to pay for five years of credit and bank monitoring services as well as identity theft insurance for all class members.

Sony Pictures declined to comment on the lawsuit.

About the Author
By Tom Huddleston Jr.
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in

Current price of Ethereum for May 21, 2026
Personal FinanceEthereum
Current price of Ethereum for May 21, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerMay 21, 2026
20 minutes ago
Current price of Bitcoin for May 21, 2026
Personal FinanceCryptocurrency
Current price of Bitcoin for May 21, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerMay 21, 2026
20 minutes ago
allbirds
AILayoffs
Allbirds’ 600% stock surge says a lot about how ‘AI washing’ became the new ‘greenwashing’
By Suvrat Dhanorkar and The ConversationMay 21, 2026
22 minutes ago
Current price of gold as of May 21, 2026
Personal Financegold prices
Current price of gold as of May 21, 2026
By Danny BakstMay 21, 2026
23 minutes ago
Top CD rates from major banks May 21, 2026: Chase CDs, Bank of America CDs, Citibank CDs, and more
Personal FinanceCertificates of Deposit (CDs)
Top CD rates from major banks on May 21, 2026: Chase CDs, Bank of America CDs, Citibank CDs, and more
By Joseph HostetlerMay 21, 2026
28 minutes ago
Current price of oil as of May 21, 2026
Personal FinanceOil
Current price of oil as of May 21, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerMay 21, 2026
37 minutes ago

Most Popular

Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 
Workplace Culture
Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 
By Preston ForeMay 19, 2026
2 days ago
Despite a $500 million net worth, Shaq just finished his fourth degree. He warns graduates: 'Your character will take you further than your resume'
Success
Despite a $500 million net worth, Shaq just finished his fourth degree. He warns graduates: 'Your character will take you further than your resume'
By Preston ForeMay 20, 2026
23 hours ago
Meet a 21-year-old community college student who's going to China as the first American woman welder in the trades Olympics
Future of Work
Meet a 21-year-old community college student who's going to China as the first American woman welder in the trades Olympics
By Mike Householder and The Associated PressMay 17, 2026
4 days ago
Dr. Bernice King on why companies that walked back DEI were never truly committed: 'If you retreat that quick…that reveals who you really are'
Workplace Culture
Dr. Bernice King on why companies that walked back DEI were never truly committed: 'If you retreat that quick…that reveals who you really are'
By Preston ForeMay 19, 2026
2 days ago
Current price of oil as of May 20, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of May 20, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerMay 20, 2026
1 day ago
Pay transparency is exposing a bigger problem: Most companies can't explain why they pay what they pay
Workplace Culture
Pay transparency is exposing a bigger problem: Most companies can't explain why they pay what they pay
By Sydney LakeMay 20, 2026
18 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.