Nationwide Will Pay $5.5M Over Security Breach

Nationwide might be back on your side. The insurance company has agreed to pay $5.5 million and take other steps to protect customers’ identity as part of a settlement with New Jersey and 31 other states, officials said Wednesday. The move resolves allegations that the company left out a critical security patch that could have prevented a security breach in October 2012 that resulted in the loss of personal data belonging to 1.27 million consumers, including 1,112 in New Jersey. "We live in a world where, for most consumers, it’s difficult if not impossible to avoid having their personal information end up stored in multiple databases," New Jersey Attorney General Christopher Porrino said in a statement.