Article Title: 2.9 billion hit in one of the largest data breaches ever — full names, addresses and SSNs exposed
Snippet of Article: "...A complaint submitted to the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida claims the exposed personal data belongs to a public records data provider named National Public Data, which specializes in background checks and fraud prevention.
The personal data of 2.9 billion people, which includes full names, former and complete addresses going back 30 years, Social Security Numbers, and more, was stolen from National Public Data by a cybercriminal group that goes by the name USDoD. The complaint goes on to explain that the hackers then tried to sell this huge collection of personal data on the dark web to the tune of $3.5 million. It's worth noting that due to the sheer number of people affected, this data likely comes from both the U.S. and other countries around the world.
Here’s everything we know so far about this massive data breach along with some steps you can take to stay safe if your personal information was exposed online. ...Normally after a breach of this size, the company responsible will offer free access to either identity theft protection or credit monitoring for up to two years. In the meantime though, you’re going to want to be careful when checking your inbox or even your messages as hackers often use this type of data to launch targeted phishing attacks. "
Source: www.tomsguide.com
