A retirement plan participant has sued JPMorgan Chase over the company's recent data breach, alleging that his personal information was "targeted, compromised, and unlawfully accessed." The full names, addresses, payment and deduction amounts, and Social Security Numbers of more than 451,000 participants were exposed in the breach, the company said.

Benjamin Valentine, a former Long Island Railroad employee, filed a class action lawsuit representing up to 50,000 plan participants in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. He received a letter in mid-April saying his personal information was improperly accessed and obtained by unauthorized third parties. "The data breach has caused [Valentine] to suffer fear, anxiety, and stress, which has been compounded by the fact that [JPMorgan] has still not fully informed him of key details about the data breach's occurrence," the lawsuit claims.

The lawsuit says JPMorgan failed to:

• implement adequate and reasonable cybersecurity procedures and protocols necessary to protect the personal information of its clients' employees;
• ensure that its data systems were protected against unauthorized intrusions;
• take steps to prevent the data breach; and
• provide affected participants prompt and accurate notice of the breach.

Valentine seeks relief including, but not limited to, actual damages, treble damages, statutory damages, injunctive relief, and attorney's fees and costs.