Dish Network's (or DISH) legal department is in the weeds.
The company was recently slapped with multiple class action lawsuits following a ransomware incident that caused a multi-day outage to its customers.
The network is still fighting the disruption to its cyber systems, which affected much of its services, including its online customer portal.
Dish Network Class Action Lawsuit Details
DISH recently became the subject of class action lawsuits of at least six law firms which filed them to recover losses for the network's shareholders who were adversely affected by the alleged "securities fraud" from Feb. 22, 2021, to Feb. 27, 2023, per Bleeping Computer.
The lawsuit alleges that DISH attempted to conceal the fact that it maintained "deficient" cybersecurity and IT infrastructure by lying about and overstating its operational efficiency. They reasoned that it was this deficiency that allowed DISH's operations to become susceptible to "widespread service outages" and prevented it from responding to them and allowed cybercriminals to steal supposedly secure customer data.
As such, the law firms believe that the company's public statements regarding its cybersecurity and IT infrastructure were alleged "materially false and misleading at all relevant times."
These lawsuits came from the following law offices:
- Rosen Law Firm
- Levi & Korsinsky
- New York-based Law Offices of Vincent Wong
- Robins LLP (San Diego, California-based)
- Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C.
- Bernstein Liebhard LLP
Read More: Virgin Orbit's Space Launch Operations Is No More
According to a statement from Levi & Korsinsky, LLP, DISH shareholders who wish to include themselves in the class action lawsuit may do so until May 22, which could potentially make them its lead plaintiff, though their ability to share in any recovery doesn't require them to be lead plaintiff. The law firm also assures people who wish to request to become a plaintiff in the lawsuits is free and that the compensation wouldn't be used to pay any out-of-pocket costs or fees.
The other law firms have extended an invitation to DISH's shareholders, though some of them will take a share of the compensation for the expenses they incurred to sue the company.
DISH has yet to release an official statement regarding the matter.
Dish Network's Post-Outage Activities
While DISH has yet to address the lawsuits officially, it is taking steps to fix and improve its cybersecurity following the Feb. 24 ransomware attack that knocked out its services.
The company's customers initially noticed that DISH and its subsidiaries mysteriously went offline, with its websites and app not functioning for days. Though the company previously labeled it as a "network outage," it eventually revealed the truth in an SEC filing on Feb. 28.
Despite the days between Feb. 24 and Feb. 28, the company was unable to bring its network back online, with the company announcing that it is experiencing a system issue that its teams are "working hard to resolve."
DISH's stock price considerably fell due to the outage and ransomware attack; its stock fell by as much as 6.48% or $0.79 per share, with it closing at $11.41 per share on Feb. 28.
Related Article: Dish's Boost Infinite Beta Plan Has Been Launched for $25 a Month
