For a victim of a security breach to prevail in a negligence claim, what MUST the victim establish?

Concern is a subjective feeling and does not represent a required legal element for proving negligence or damages in a lawsuit.

Breach of contract is a separate legal claim based on the violation of an agreement's terms, distinct from a tort claim of negligence which focuses on a duty of care.

Proximate cause is a critical legal element in a negligence claim, requiring the victim to prove that the defendant's negligent actions (e.g., poor security practices) were a direct and foreseeable cause of the victim's damages resulting from the security breach. Without establishing this direct causal link, a court cannot legally attribute the harm to the alleged negligence, preventing the victim from prevailing.

While a victim may experience hardship, 'hardship' itself is not a specific legal element that must be established to prove negligence; actual damages must be proven instead.