A two-and-a-half week gap between the first break-in and the moment anyone noticed sits at the heart of a settled class action against Brevard Skin and Cancer Center, the Florida dermatology practice that a crew called PEAR targeted in 2025.
Investigators traced the earliest unauthorized network access to September 28, 2025, but staff only spotted activity on October 14. Records caught up in the incident included names, phone numbers, email addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, diagnoses, clinical information, and billing and claims data. The practice’s report to the HHS Office for Civil Rights lists 54,570 affected people. PEAR took public credit for the intrusion and warned it would dump the stolen files absent payment.
Negligence, breach of implied contract, unjust enrichment, invasion of privacy, breach of fiduciary duty and a violation of Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act are among the claims patients pressed in the consolidated case, filed on February 5, 2026 in the Circuit Court for Brevard County as In Re: Brevard Skin & Cancer Center Data Breach Litigation. No settlement figure was disclosed, and the practice denies fault and liability.
