The dark web is a scary part of the internet where all manner of illegal items are up for grabs.
Drugs, military weapons, and data are being sold without the prying eyes of government and law enforcement.
And now billions of electronic records stolen from databases just appeared on the Dark Web.
Stolen Data is Big Business
The dark web is a sick place where you can get almost anything if you know how it works.
While some use it to get their hands on drugs, the most valuable commodity for sale is your data.
When you hear stories about data breaches from major corporations, the most valuable thing the crooks grab is credit card information, which they use to grab as much cash as they can.
After that it is your personal information, where gangs can create fake identities using your information to get loans, which create real problems when your identity is stolen.
Gangs of cyber thieves devote huge amounts of resources to trying to crack into data, and corporations spend big bucks on cyber security to keep them out.
But much of our personal data is stored in massive government databases, and not every agency is as worried about your data as private companies are.
This Government Database is for Sale for $3.5 million
On April 8, a group called “USDoD” put billions of records of U.S. citizens up for grabs on the dark web called “National Public Data.”
April 8th, 2024, a Threat Actor operating under the moniker “USDoD” placed a large database up for sale on Breached titled: “National Public Data”. They claimed it contained 2,900,000,000 records on United States citizens. They put the data up for sale for $3,500,000.
National…
— vx-underground (@vxunderground) June 1, 2024
They claim this data came from a host of government and other sources and is 2.9 BILLION records of the personal information of Americans.
One of the sources of information came from an employment verification service based in Florida.
This company exists because of government mandates on private companies for employment and citizenship requirements.
The data was verified to include names and social security numbers going back three decades.
But it’s not just government data that is vulnerable to hackers.
Companies make a living buying and selling your personal information.
While the companies may profit from finding people who might need new windows for their home, the data they collect is also valuable to thieves and scammers.
Unfortunately, there is very little individuals can do to protect their data and privacy.
The online publication dataeconomy.com recommends the following:
“Individuals can also take steps to protect their personal information. Using data opt-out services, regularly updating passwords, and being cautious about the information shared online can help mitigate the risk of personal data being exposed in a breach. Staying informed about data security best practices and remaining vigilant can further enhance personal data protection.”
One lesson learned from this data breach is that “opt out options” work.
When you choose the option ‘not to release your information to third parties’ on a website, it really does reduce your vulnerability to data theft.
People who used this option on one of the websites were not part of the data theft.
We will continue to monitor this story and give you updates as more information becomes available.
Patriot Political will keep you up-to-date on any developments to this ongoing story.
