A significant cybersecurity breach has struck at the heart of several Catholic Church bankruptcy cases, notably the Archdiocese of Baltimore. The breach, involving sensitive data, was flagged by the U.S. Justice Department over concerns about the exposure of sexual abuse survivors' information.
The Berkeley Research Group, financial advisors to the embroiled bankruptcy cases, first spotted the breach on March 2, yet it took almost two months before the Department was notified on April 28. WMAR2 News reported, "Although such a large-scale data breach would be of concern to the United States Trustee in any bankruptcy case, that the breach occurred in archdiocesan and diocesan cases—where the claims information of sexual abuse survivors is the most sensitive and confidential of all information—is very concerning," stated Nan Eitel, an associate general counsel for Chapter 11 Practice at the DOJ.
The Department of Justice's requests for more details on the incident have drawn focus to its timing and extent. According to CBS Baltimore, the DOJ seeks the case name, number, and district of each known affected case, insights into whether creditors have been notified, and the reasons behind BRG's delayed disclosure between discovering the breach on March 2 and notifying the U.S. Trustee Program on April 28.
In the shadow of the cybersecurity debacle, the Maryland General Assembly recently amended the Child Victims Act, significantly lowering the financial compensation for abuse claims filed on or after June 1. The Baltimore Banner details the compensation for abuse claims involving private institutions at a maximum of $700,000, down from a previous cap of $890,000, while claims involving public institutions are limited to $400,000.
