Urban One Data Breach Settlement Gets Final Approval
Urban One Finalizes $675,000 Settlement for 2025 Data Breach
Impact Scope
People Affected
approximately 13,778
Affected Companies
Industries Affected
Geographic Impact
Related Entities
Products & Tech
Other
Full Report
Executive Summary
On September 25, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland granted final approval for a $675,000 settlement to resolve the class-action lawsuit against media company Urban One, Inc. The lawsuit stemmed from a data breach discovered in March 2025 that compromised the personally identifiable information (PII) of approximately 13,778 current and former employees. The settlement fund will provide reimbursement for out-of-pocket losses, lost time, and credit monitoring services for all affected individuals, bringing a legal conclusion to the nearly two-year-old incident.
Regulatory Details
The case, Gomian Konneh v. Urban One, Inc., was filed following the disclosure of a data breach that Urban One detected on or around March 15, 2025. The lawsuit alleged that the company was negligent in protecting employee data and had breached an implied contract to keep their information secure. The parties reached a settlement agreement through mediation on September 17, 2025, which has now received its final court approval.
The compromised data was highly sensitive, including:
- Names
- Home addresses
- Social Security numbers
- Direct deposit information (bank account details)
- W-2 tax information
Affected Organizations
- Primary Organization: Urban One, Inc., a media company that owns brands such as Radio One and TV One.
- Affected Population: Approximately 13,778 current and former employees.
Compliance Requirements
The $675,000 non-reversionary settlement fund is structured to provide several benefits to the class members:
- Reimbursement for Losses: Class members can claim reimbursement for documented out-of-pocket expenses and lost time up to a cap of $10,000.
- Alternative Cash Payment: Alternatively, members can opt for a smaller pro-rata cash payment, which is capped at $500.
- Credit Monitoring: All 13,778 affected individuals are eligible to enroll in three years of three-bureau credit monitoring and identity theft protection services provided by CyEx.
Implementation Timeline
- Breach Discovery: On or around March 15, 2025
- Settlement Agreement: September 17, 2025
- Final Court Approval: September 25, 2026
- Claims Period for Losses: March 15, 2025, to October 12, 2026
- Claim Filing Deadline: October 12, 2026
Impact Assessment
The primary impact of the original breach was the exposure of sensitive employee PII, placing them at risk of identity theft and financial fraud. The settlement now quantifies the financial impact on Urban One, which includes the $675,000 fund plus legal fees. For the affected employees, the settlement provides a mechanism for compensation for damages incurred and proactive protection through credit monitoring. The case serves as a reminder to all organizations of the legal and financial liabilities associated with failing to adequately protect employee data.
Compliance Guidance
This settlement offers several lessons for other organizations regarding data protection and incident response:
- Protect Employee PII: Employee data, especially SSNs and financial information, is as sensitive as customer data and must be protected with the same level of rigor. This includes encryption, access controls, and regular security assessments.
- Breach of Contract Risk: Courts increasingly recognize an 'implied contract' between employers and employees to safeguard personal data. A failure to do so can create legal liability beyond simple negligence claims.
- Value of Credit Monitoring: Offering multiple years of credit monitoring is a standard and expected component of data breach responses involving sensitive PII. Proactively offering it can demonstrate goodwill and may be a factor in settlement negotiations.
- Cyber Insurance: Maintaining adequate cyber insurance is critical to cover the costs of incident response, legal fees, and potential settlements, which can be substantial.
Timeline of Events
MITRE ATT&CK Mitigations
Encrypt Sensitive Information
Encrypting sensitive employee data like SSNs and financial information at rest can prevent it from being usable by an attacker even if they breach the system.
Privileged Account Management
Implement the principle of least privilege to ensure that only a minimal number of authorized personnel have access to sensitive employee data repositories.
D3FEND Defensive Countermeasures
To prevent incidents like the Urban One breach, organizations must treat employee PII with the same level of protection as customer data. A primary technical control is encryption at rest. Sensitive files, such as those containing W-2 information, direct deposit details, and Social Security Numbers, should be encrypted. This can be achieved through file-level encryption or full-disk encryption on the servers and databases where this data is stored. Had the exfiltrated files been encrypted, the data would have been useless to the attackers, and the breach would have been a low-severity privacy event rather than a high-severity PII compromise leading to a costly settlement.
Implement the principle of least privilege for all access to employee data. Access to HR databases and file shares containing sensitive information should be strictly limited to HR personnel who have a legitimate business need. User account permissions should be reviewed regularly, and access for former employees must be terminated immediately upon separation. By minimizing the number of accounts that can access this data, the organization reduces the attack surface and limits the potential for both external attackers and malicious insiders to compromise the information.
Timeline of Events
Urban One discovers a data breach affecting its network and employee data.
The parties in the resulting class-action lawsuit reach a settlement agreement.
A U.S. District Court grants final approval for the $675,000 settlement.
Deadline for class members to file a claim for reimbursement.
Sources & References
Article Author
Jason Gomes
• Cybersecurity PractitionerCybersecurity professional with over 10 years of specialized experience in security operations, threat intelligence, incident response, and security automation. Expertise spans SOAR/XSOAR orchestration, threat intelligence platforms, SIEM/UEBA analytics, and building cyber fusion centers. Background includes technical enablement, solution architecture for enterprise and government clients, and implementing security automation workflows across IR, TIP, and SOC use cases.
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