Tampa Bay manufacturer files lawsuit over cybersecurity breach
A Tampa Bay manufacturer is suing its former Vice President of Operations for allegedly accessing proprietary data after being fired, an incident that raises familiar concerns about insider threats and data security in cloud environments.
Coating Technology Inc., headquartered in Oldsmar, filed a federal complaint against Jesse French on June 20 in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. The company alleges that French, after being terminated in March, used his old login credentials to access proprietary CAD files stored on the cloud platform Fusion360 for five and a half hours in May. At the time, French was working for a competitor.
The lawsuit seeks damages under both the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and Florida’s Computer Abuse and Data Recovery Act, citing damages stemming from employee time and forensic review. The company also claims French accessed sensitive designs used for machine-cut protective coatings applied to aircraft parts.
