Penalty Amount
$49,500,000
Blackbaud, a software company, experienced a ransomware attack in 2020 that exposed sensitive personal information, including protected health data, due to inadequate security practices and delayed breach notification. A multistate investigation resulted in a $49.5 million settlement, requiring Blackbaud to enhance data security, implement breach response plans, and undergo third-party assessments.
Blackbaud must pay $49.5 million to the states, implement and maintain incident response plans, provide assistance to customers for breach notifications, enhance cybersecurity training and resources, implement total database encryption and dark web monitoring, meet specific security requirements, and undergo third-party assessments for seven years.
In-house legal teams should review all vendor and customer agreements where Blackbaud acts as a data processor or service provider, particularly those involving protected health information (PHI) or other sensitive personal data. Key clauses to scrutinize include data security obligations (e.g., encryption, access controls), breach notification timelines and procedures, HIPAA compliance terms (including Business Associate Agreement requirements), audit and assessment rights, indemnification provisions, and data retention/deletion schedules. Given the settlement's focus on inadequate security and delayed notification, contracts may need amendments to mandate specific security controls (like multi-factor authentication), shorten notification windows (e.g., 72 hours), require regular third-party security audits, and impose clearer PHI handling and subprocessor management requirements to ensure compliance with state consumer protection and breach notification laws.
Entity
Blackbaud
Industry
TechnologyOfficial Press Release
https://www.njoag.gov/ag-platkin-announces-49-5-million-multistate-settlement-with-blackbaud-to-resolve-2020-data-breach/
2023 1004 BlackBaud AVC filed
https://www.nj.gov/oag/newsreleases23/2023-1004_BlackBaud-AVC-filed.pdf
New Jersey Attorney General Enforcement Page
https://www.njoag.gov/about/divisions-and-offices/division-of-consumer-affairs/
"Blackbaud"
"$49.5 million"
"state consumer protection laws, breach notification laws, and the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”)"
"by failing to implement reasonable data security and remediate known security gaps, which allowed unauthorized persons to gain access to Blackbaud’s network, and then failing to provide its customers with timely, complete, or accurate information regarding the breach"
$6.8M
California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced a $6.75 million settlement with software company Blackbaud over a 2020 data breach that exposed consumers' personal information including Social Security numbers, bank account details, and medical data. Blackbaud was found to have inadequate data security practices, failed to timely and accurately notify impacted individuals of the breach, and made misleading public disclosures about the breach and its pre-breach security measures. The settlement requires Blackbaud to pay penalties and implement enhanced data security and breach notification protocols.
$49.5M
Blackbaud, a cloud company providing donor management software, experienced a 2020 data breach exposing personal information of millions of donors through its nonprofit customers. A multistate investigation found Blackbaud failed to implement adequate data security and delayed breach notifications. As a result, Blackbaud agreed to pay $49.5 million and overhaul its security practices.
A multistate coalition co-led by New Jersey won a federal court order rejecting the Trump Administration’s decision not to request funding for the CFPB. The order struck down that decision and directed the Administration to follow the law and fund the agency; no monetary penalty or privacy violation is described.
New Jersey’s Attorney General and Division of Consumer Affairs alerted the public that three synthetic kratom-related compounds became illegal to possess or sell in the state under a temporary federal scheduling order. The release describes a controlled-substance alert, not a privacy enforcement action, and identifies no company, privacy violation, or monetary penalty.
$2.3M
Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings agreed to pay $2,287,455 to participating states and strengthen its security and vendor-management practices following an investigation into the 2019 breach at its debt-collection vendor, AMCA. The breach potentially exposed information of more than 27.5 million people nationwide, including sensitive information belonging to approximately 10.2 million LabCorp patients.
$694.0M
New Jersey's Attorney General and Division of Consumer Affairs, along with 41 Attorneys General, reached a $694 million settlement with subprime auto lender Credit Acceptance Corporation over allegations it originated unaffordable loans its own systems predicted borrowers could not repay, employed aggressive debt-collection tactics, and failed to prevent deceptive vehicle-service contract and GAP product 'packing' by dealers. The multistate settlement stepped in after the CFPB permanently dropped its 2023 enforcement action against CAC in 2025. CAC will provide $60 million in cash restitution, $634 million in debt relief, an additional $15 million to the states, and implement injunctive lending reforms including loan off ramps, pre-loan disclosures, add-on packing safeguards, and a seven-year vehicle price cap. Note: this is a consumer-protection lending enforcement action, not a privacy matter; violation categories are best-fit mappings from the available taxonomy.