ID verification large IDScan confirms information breach with greater than 150 million driver’s licenses stolen

ID verification service IDScan has confirmed {that a} information breach concerned the theft of driver’s licenses from its techniques, every week after a report mentioned the identification doc checker had been breached during a year-long hack.

The corporate mentioned in a website notice that hackers stole the driving force’s licenses from the corporate’s cloud; the stolen data consists of folks’s full names and driver’s license numbers, together with identification numbers from different government-issued paperwork, corresponding to passports.

The Louisiana-based agency is utilized by company prospects from leisure venues to hashish dispensaries to examine and confirm the identification paperwork of their prospects. The discover is the corporate’s first acknowledgement that it had been hacked. The corporate mentioned final week that it was investigating an incident, however had not but confirmed an intrusion.

IDScan mentioned in its discover that it “acquired data” on or round September 1 a couple of declare of a hack, on the identical day that unbiased cybersecurity journalist Brian Krebs first reported an information breach at IDScan. 

Krebs reported that he was alerted to an internet site on the darkish internet that allowed anybody to go looking the driving force’s license data of over 150 million folks dwelling in america and Canada, together with accessing their pictures. Krebs verified the authenticity of the information by inspecting his personal report. The database additionally contained high-profile people, together with the U.S. Secretary of Protection Pete Hegseth, and a safety researcher who additionally verified his information for Krebs’ report.

The Pentagon informed TechCrunch last week that it was conscious of the suspected breach, and a spokesperson for the FBI mentioned it was additionally investigating the incident.

IDScan mentioned on its web site its investigation was ongoing. The corporate’s assertion mentioned that, “although full entry to the data required fee” — doubtless referring to a requirement for cash made by the hackers to entry the total cache of stolen information — the corporate was offering discover on its web site to inform doubtlessly affected people. IDScan has not mentioned what number of people are affected however notes on its website that it holds over 150 million driver’s license data.

IDScan didn’t reply to TechCrunch’s request for remark in regards to the incident, corresponding to whether or not the hackers contacted the corporate with a ransom demand to not launch the information.