FBI Probes Potential Data Breach of Millions of Drivers’ Licenses
Corrections & Clarifications: This story previously misstated the relationship between some companies and idscan.net.
The FBI is investigating the potential theft and sale of millions of drivers’ licenses on the dark web.
Digital scans of more than 153 million drivers’ licenses belonging to people in the United States and Canada were advertised on the site Nexus. News of the breach was first reported by the blog Krebs on Security.
Krebs said he confirmed the authenticity of at least nine drivers’ licenses for sale on the site. Shortly after the Sept. 2 story was published, he said the Nexus site disappeared from the dark web.
The FBI said in a statement that it was “looking into the incident” but could not comment because of the ongoing investigation.
What We Know About the Potential Breach
The source of the data breach remains unclear.
Krebs pointed to Louisiana-based ID-verification company idscan.net as a potential culprit. A spokesperson for the company told Krebs it was investigating the issue.
USA TODAY has not been able to independently verify Krebs’ assertions and has reached out to idscan.net for comment.
Contributing: Reuters
Reporting by Karissa Waddick, USA TODAY / USA TODAY. USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect.
