2.9 million records which includes Social Security numbers, stolen in data breach What do you know about the data hack?

The hacker group USDoD said it had hacked personal information including Social Security information of 2.9 billion individuals through National Public Data.

By Emily DeLetter

Aug 15, 2024 01:32 PM

An enormous amount of Social Security numbers and other sensitive information for millions of people could be in the hands of a hacking group after a data breach and may have been released on an online marketplace, The Los Angeles Times reported this week.

Hackers from the group USDoD claimed that it had stolen the personal data of 2.9 billion individuals through National Public Data, according to the Class-action suit that was filed with U.S. District Court in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, published by Bloomberg Law. The breach is believed to have occurred sometime in April 2024 or later as per the lawsuit.

Here’s a look at the purported data breach.

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What details are included in the breach of data?

The firm that handles class actions, Schubert, Jonckheer & Kolbe released a statement that the file stolen contains 277.1 gigabytes of information including names of relatives, address histories, as well as Social Security numbers that date back at minimum three years.

According to a blog post by cybersecurity expert X formerly Twitter, USDoD claims to be selling the 2.9 billion records of the residents of The U.S., U.K. and Canada on the dark internet in exchange for $3.5 million.

Since the data was made available to the market in April several other organizations have also released copies of the information according to the security and technology news website Bleeping Computer.

A hacker named ” Fenice” published the most comprehensive version of the information for no cost via a message board in the month of August. Bleeping Computer reported.

What is National Public Data?

National Public Data is a background check based in Florida business owned through Jerico Pictures, Inc. USA TODAY has contacted National Public Data for comment.

The company hasn’t publicly declared a breach of data however The Los Angeles Times reported that it was informing those who reached out through email “we are aware of certain third-party claims about consumer data and are investigating these issues.”

What do you do if believe your information was stolen

If you suspect that your personal data has been stolen, or was posted in the shadow web, there’s a few steps you can take in order to protect yourself from identity theft or fraud.

Money suggests taking one of the steps below:

• Check that your antivirus is current and run security checks on all your devices. If you spot malware, the majority of antivirus software should be able to eliminate it, however in certain instances, you might require assistance from a professional.
• Change your passwords for your bank accounts or email accounts, as well as other services you use and ensure they’re secure and unique for each account. Make sure to include lowercase and uppercase characters, numbers and punctuation marks. Also, do not use any private information that hackers might be able to guess.
• Utilize multi-factor authentication with any websites or accounts that support it to confirm that you are the only person who is logging into.
• Review your credit reports, and report any unauthorised use of your credit cards. If you find some suspicious activities, request that credit bureaus freeze your credit report.
• Be cautious with your email as well as social media accounts and be wary of phishing scams attempt to obtain your personal data by flimsily stating the person a message or email comes from.