According to a lawsuit from a man whose identity was stolen, a hacking group called USDoD claimed to have obtained 2.9 billion personal records from a background check company called National Public Data in April. The information included names, Social Security numbers, and physical addresses of people in the US, UK, and Canada—maybe everyone.
Initially, the hackers were looking to sell the private info for $3.5 million on the dark web. Then, on August 6, a hacker affiliated with another group straight up leaked 2.7 billion records, which Bleeping Computer verified were at least partly accurate. The person claimed to have access to another, even bigger dataset, too.
“If this in fact is pretty much the whole dossier on all of us, it certainly is much more concerning than prior breaches,” said Teresa Murray, director for the consumer watchdog U.S. Public Information Research Group. “And if people weren’t taking precautions in the past, which they should have been doing, this should be a five-alarm wake-up call for them.”
So, what can you do to protect your information?
At this point, it’s probably safe to assume that if someone wanted to steal your identity, they could. So you should always closely monitor your credit reports to ensure there’s no fraud or other suspicious activity going on. If you do notice inconsistencies, immediately contact credit bureaus and request a freeze on your accounts.
If anything, this is a great reminder to stay on top of your accounts—could be a good time to update your old passwords and set up two-factor authentication.
The post Pretty Much Everyone’s Social Security Number, Name, and Address Was Leaked appeared first on VICE.
The post Pretty Much Everyone’s Social Security Number, Name, and Address Was Leaked appeared first on VICE.
