CORAL SPRINGS, FLA. (WSVN) - A hack attack on a South Florida business may have exposed billions of people’s personal information, a federal lawsuit claims.
The alleged hack at National Public Data could have resulted in a massive leak of personal records.
Nearly three billion personal information records — including names, social security numbers and addresses — were exposed in what could be the largest data breach in history, according to the lawsuit.
National Public Data collects and sells access to personal information, which is then used by other organizations to obtain things like background checks and criminal records.
The lawsuit, filed against the company in Florida federal court, claims the hackers leaked the information on the dark web, selling it for $3.5 million.
“We didn’t give permission for them to collect that data. We can go opt out if we know the company exists, but there’s hundreds of data collection companies out there,” said Cliff Steinhauer with the National Cybersecurity Alliance.
The lawsuit also claims the company is based in Coral Springs. The address on its website comes back to a UPS Store mailbox.
“I think people should be very upset about this,” said Lou Rabon, CEO of the Cyber Defense Group. “They should ask, why is this company, you know, why do they have all of that information? And when they had it, who was making sure that they were protecting it?”
The scale of this breach is so extensive, that it’s likely that some of all United States residents’ data is included.
Experts recommend taking these simple measures:
- Monitor your credit reports for fraudulent activity.
- Manage your passwords, using two-factor authentication when possible.
- Freeze your credit, which can help prevent scammers from taking out loans or opening new credit cards in your name.
“Too few people do the basics right, and so, we just make it really easy for cybercriminals to attack us,” said Steinhauer.
In addition to the U.S., the hackers in this breach claim information was also stolen from those in the United Kingdom and Canada.
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