TD Ameritrade data theft settlement talks resume

A lawsuit over the theft of contact information for more than 6 million TD Ameritrade customers has been ordered into mediation, so the search for a satisfactory settlement will continue. Last fall, U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker in San Francisco rejected a proposed settlement that offered anti-spam software and a promise of tighter security at TD Ameritrade. Walker ruled that deal offered little significant benefit to the Ameritrade customers affected. Walker recently ordered more settlement talks under the supervision of a magistrate judge. Ameritrade disclosed the breach in September 2007. Anyone who held an Ameritrade account or provided an e-mail address to the company before then could have been affected by the data theft.