Hackers steal personal info
2005-03-10 08:42
Washington - Computer thieves obtained sensitive personal data including social security numbers of some 32 000 Americans, an information broker said on Wednesday.
This is the second major breach discovered in the past two months.
British-based Reed Elsevier said that a unit of its US affiliate LexisNexis "has identified a number of incidents of potentially fraudulent access to information about US individuals".
The company said it had notified law enforcement and was launching its own probe of the breach.
"Information on approximately 32 000 individuals may have been fraudulently accessed in these incidents," the company said.
"LexisNexis very much regrets this and will be notifying all the individuals concerned and providing them with ongoing credit monitoring and practical support to ensure that any identity theft is quickly detected and addressed."
The information accessed includes names, addresses, social security and drivers' licence numbers, but not credit history, medical records or financial information, the statement said.
The company said it discovered the breach at its recently acquired Seisint unit, which arose "from the misappropriation by third parties of IDs and passwords from legitimate customers".
'Another day, another security breach...'
Seisint was known for creating a government-funded database known as Matrix - Multistate Anti-Terrorism Information Exchange - criticised by civil liberties advocates, aimed at helping law enforcement.
The news came weeks after swindlers in Los Angeles, California duped ChoicePoint - the largest of several US companies in the highly lucrative business of gathering and selling consumer financial data to businesses - into divulging sensitive personal information on 145 000 people.
In that case, at least some of the victims whose information was accessed may have been victims of identity theft, which may involve thieves applying for bank loans and credit cards in the victims' names.
The latest breach prompted consumer activists to urge Congress, which has held hearings on the practices of information brokers, to act.
"Another day, another security breach scandal," said Gail Hillebrand, attorney for Consumers Union.
"This latest incident involving LexisNexis highlights how ChoicePoint is not the only information broker being targeted by identity thieves. Congress needs to act to ensure that information brokers maintain strict security and customer screening practices so consumers are protected from this serious identity theft threat."
Reed Elsevier said its databases are used for law enforcement, homeland security and for commercial customers to help curb cases of credit card and insurance fraud.
Some lawmakers are pressing for legislation that would give the federal government the power to regulate information brokers.
"Currently, unregulated data brokers are able to sell files containing Social Security numbers, credit reports and other personal data," Senator Bill Nelson said recently.