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Blog Security News Data Breach Exposes 3 Billion Personal Information Records


DATA BREACH EXPOSES 3 BILLION PERSONAL INFORMATION RECORDS



Jasdev Dhaliwal

Aug 14, 2024

7 MIN READ

News of a major data breach that could affect nearly three billion records comes
to light from a somewhat unusual source — a class-action complaint filed in
Florida.

Even as details come to light, we advise people to act as if this is indeed a
large and significant breach.


THE NATIONAL PUBLIC DATA (NPD) BREACH

First, the details. The filed complaint concerns National Public Data (NPD), a
company that provides background checks. Per their website, “[NPD obtains]
information from various public record databases, court records, state and
national databases, and other repositories nationwide.”

The complaint alleges that NPD was hit by a data breach in or around April 2024.
[i] The complaint filed in the U.S. District Court further alleges:

 * The company had sensitive info breached, such as full names; current and past
   addresses spanning at least the last three decades; Social Security numbers;
   info about parents, siblings, and other relatives (including some who have
   been deceased for nearly 20 years); and other personal info.
 * The company “scraped” this info from non-public sources. This info was
   collected without the consent of the person who filed the complaint and the
   billions of others who might qualify to join in the class action complaint.
 * The company “assumed legal and equitable duties to those individuals to
   protect and safeguard that information from unauthorized access and
   intrusion.”


HOW DID THE NPD BREACH COME TO LIGHT?

Typically, companies self-report these breaches, thanks to regulations and
legislation that require them to report them in a timely manner. That way,
initial word of breaches reaches customers through emails, news reports, and
sometimes through notifications to certain state attorney generals.

In this case, it appears that no notices were sent to potential victims.
Further, we were unable to find any filings with state attorney generals.

As to how the primary plaintiff discovered the breach, he “received a
notification from his identity theft protection service provider notifying him
that his [personal info] was compromised as a direct result of the
‘nationalpublicdata.com’ breach …” (And you can certainly add online protection
software to the list of ways you can find out about a data breach before a
company notifies you.)

Further, in June, The Register reported that a hacker group by the name of USDoD
claimed it hacked the records of nearly 3 billion people and put them up for
sale on the dark web.[ii] The price tag, U.S. $3.5 million. The group further
claimed that the records include U.S., Canadian, and British citizens.

From an online protection standpoint, this alleged breach could contain highly
sensitive info that, if true, would put three billion people at risk of identity
theft. The mere possibility of breached Social Security numbers alone makes it
something worth acting on.


HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF AGAINST DATA BREACHES

This breach shows the risks and frustrations that we, as consumers, face in the
wake of such attacks. It often takes months before we receive any kind of
notification. And of course, that gap gives hackers plenty of time to do their
damage. They might use stolen info to commit identity crimes, or they might sell
it to others who’ll do the same. Either way, we’re often in the dark until we
get hit with a case of identity theft ourselves.

Indeed, word of an attack that affects you might take some time to reach you.
With that, a mix of measures offer the strongest protection from data breaches.

To fully cover yourself, we suggest the following:

Check your credit, consider a security freeze, and get ID theft protection.

With your personal info potentially on the dark web, strongly consider taking
preventive measures now. Checking your credit and getting identity theft
protection can help keep you safer in the aftermath of a breach. Further, a
security freeze can help prevent identity theft if you spot any unusual
activity. You can get all three in place with our McAfee+ Advanced or Ultimate
plans. Features include:

 * Credit monitoring keeps an eye on changes to your credit score, report, and
   accounts with timely notifications and guidance so you can take action to
   tackle identity theft.
 * Security freeze protects you proactively by stopping unauthorized access to
   existing credit card, bank, and utility accounts or from new ones being
   opened in your name. And it won’t affect your credit score.
 * ID Theft & Restoration Coverage gives you $2 million in identity theft
   coverage and identity restoration support if determined you’re a victim of
   identity theft. This way, you can cover losses and repair your credit and
   identity with a licensed recovery expert.

Monitor your identity and transactions.

Breaches and leaks can lead to exposure, particularly on dark web marketplaces
where personal info gets bought and sold. Our Identity Monitoring can help
notify you quickly if that happens. It keeps tabs on everything from email
addresses to IDs and phone numbers for signs of breaches. If spotted, it offers
advice that can help secure your accounts before they’re used for identity
theft.

Also in our McAfee+ plans, you’ll find several types of transaction monitoring
that can spot unusual activity. These features track transactions on credit
cards and bank accounts — along with retirement accounts, investments, and loans
for questionable transactions. Finally, further features can help prevent a bank
account takeover and keep others from taking out short-term payday loans in your
name.

Keep an eye out for phishing attacks.

With some personal info in hand, bad actors might seek out more. They might
follow up a breach with rounds of phishing attacks that direct you to bogus
sites designed to steal your personal info — either by tricking you into
providing it or by stealing it without your knowledge. So look out for phishing
attacks, particularly after breaches.

If you are contacted by a company, make certain the communication is legitimate.
Bad actors might pose as them to steal personal info. Don’t click or tap on
links sent in emails, texts, or messages. Instead, go straight to the
appropriate website or contact them by phone directly.

For even more security, you can use our new Text Scam Detector. It puts a stop
to scams before you click by detecting any suspicious links and sending you an
alert. And if you accidentally tap a bad link, it blocks the sketchy sites they
can take you to.

Update your passwords and use two-factor authentication.

Changing your password is a strong preventative measure. Strong and unique
passwords are best, which means never reusing your passwords across different
sites and platforms. Using a password manager helps you keep on top of it all,
while also storing your passwords securely.

While a strong and unique password is a good first line of defense, enabling
two-factor authentication across your accounts helps your cause by providing an
added layer of security. It’s increasingly common to see nowadays, where banks
and all manner of online services will only allow access to your accounts after
you’ve provided a one-time passcode sent to your email or smartphone.

Remove your personal info from data broker sites.

According to the filed complaint, National Public Data “scrapes” personal info
from non-public sources. Further, the home page of the website mentions that it
gathers info “from various public record databases, court records, state and
national databases, and other repositories nationwide.” While we can’t confirm
this ourselves, we can cautiously call out that these sources might include data
broker sites.

While any damage here has already been done, we recommend removing your personal
info from these data broker sites. This can prevent further exposure in the
event of future breaches elsewhere. Our Personal Data Cleanup can do this work
for you. It scans data broker sites and shows you which ones sell your personal
info. From there, it shows how you can remove your data. And our McAfee+
Advanced and Ultimate plans come with full-service Personal Data Cleanup, which
sends requests to remove your data automatically.

[i]https://www.bloomberglaw.com/public/desktop/document/HofmannvJericoPicturesIncDocketNo024cv61383SDFlaAug012024CourtDoc?doc_id=X6S27DVM6H69DSQO6MTRAQRIVBS

[ii] https://www.theregister.com/2024/06/03/usdod_data_dump/

 

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Stay Updated

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and mobile security threats.


Jasdev Dhaliwal Director of Marketing and Security Evangelist

Jasdev is a Director of Marketing at McAfee and a specialist in consumer
security and online privacy. With over 10 years of security industry experience,
he is a regular writer...


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