this post was submitted on 07 Aug 2024
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[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Worth noting looks like this breach was first reported at the start of June

https://www.theregister.com/2024/06/03/usdod_data_dump/

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago

There is a small silver lining, according to the VX team: "The database DOES NOT contain information from individuals who use data opt-out services. Every person who used some sort of data opt-out service was not present." So, we guess this is a good lesson in opting out.

Wonder what the best opt-out service is.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago

This explains why I've been getting so many Indian scam calls the last few days.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 months ago (1 children)

2 billion social security numbers? What's the population of the US?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago

More than US.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Is this why I got the latest scam email saying I need to pay $4k in bitcoin else a video of me wanking would be leaked.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 months ago (1 children)

How about you send it to me instead and I'll pay you the 4k

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago
[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 months ago

Oh shit sorry. I must have accidentally sent that email to the wrong person. I meant to send that to my dad.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Good god. Thats like, every person that has ever used a computer probably. Fuck.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Is there a simple way to find out if your Information was in this leak, and what information it is? I use haveibeenpwned for leaks linked to my email address, but from I read in this article, it's not linked to my email address.

So how do I found out if my data was leaked without paying for a credit monitoring service?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago

We got notified by email from the credit monitoring our credit card provides.

[–] [email protected] 29 points 3 months ago (1 children)

I like how my social security card explicitly says not to be for identification and tax purposes only. But I need for absolutely fucking everything and to identify I'm a citizen. Can hardly sign up for a new email without a SSN. (Exaggerating of course about the email)

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 months ago (1 children)

to identify I'm a citizen.

It's kinda worse than that


it's used to authenticate yourself as a citizen.

My SSN should at most be an ID, no different from a name. I can identify myself as Darth Vader or 4200-69-1337, but that shouldn't matter, because I should never be able to authenticate myself as either of those.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 months ago

I think you miss typed a number, that one doesnt seem to be working

[–] [email protected] 55 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

Any company accumulating, aggregating, and centralizing every piece of private and public information under the sun about people is a ticking time bomb (and that is a lot of companies these days).

We need harsher penalties for these assholes, and a privacy amendment so that we actually have some rights when dealing with them.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Also, from a national security perspective we need to make sure this isn't a slow attack to make westerners more vulnerable than other places that aren't liberal democracies.

[–] [email protected] 37 points 3 months ago (3 children)

How did this company leak 2.9 billion people's info, including SSNs, when the population of the US is only ~350M?

Is "National Public Data" collecting info on everyone internationally? So many questions...

[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 months ago

Read the article? Your questions are answered there.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 3 months ago

I just assume ssn is for a us audience and its worlwide with equivalent numbers but who knows. I mean there are only 8 bil on the planet so thats like everyone except maybe china, india, and africa

[–] [email protected] 9 points 3 months ago

When applying to a US government position with a certain security clearance, they will do background checks of you, your family and extended family, if need be.

And I'm sure that can be the case for any employer who needs background checks. That being said, I also suspect some of these people in the database are dead.

[–] [email protected] 59 points 3 months ago (1 children)

And again they will fail to punish the company responsible for protecting this data for their criminal neglience.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Because that might damage shareholder value

[–] [email protected] 16 points 3 months ago

It really should. The shareholders did profit from not investing in security until the incident. Let them suffer.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Who TF is "National Public Data?"

[–] [email protected] 9 points 3 months ago (1 children)

A company not dumb enough to store anything in the EU, that's who. They'd be in real trouble now! Phew.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 3 months ago

You're kidding, right?

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