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@briankrebs__dup_6@infosec.exchange

2026-03-03 20:13 UTC

Whoops. The data broker giant LexisNexis has suffered another data breach. LN says the data taken was no big deal. The group claiming credit for the breach claims otherwise, of course. https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/lexisnexis-confirms-data-breach-as-hackers-leak-stolen-files/ This brings back memories of previous breach stories. One of my first big scoops that made the WaPo dead tree edition's front page involved a breach at LexisNexis in 2005 that exposed >300k consumer records. That breach was from a group of 15-18y/os in the US who also social engineered T-Mobile into giving them access to Paris Hilton's cell phone and the nudes w/in. https://web.archive.org/web/20160513195758/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/19/AR2005051901854_pf.html In 2013, I published a scoop about a LexisNexis breach that came from group of criminal hackers who had seized control over ssndob[.]ru, then the largest ID theft service in the underground. In that months-long investigation, we found the hackers had installed backdoors on servers at LexisNexis, Dun & Bradstreet, and Kroll and were using them as part of a small and custom data broker botnet. https://krebsonsecurity.com/2013/09/data-broker-giants-hacked-by-id-theft-service/

Replies (4)

  • @SteveBellovin@infosec.exchange 2026-03-03 20:22

    @briankrebs Long-time mantra of mine: data that doesn’t exist can’t be stolen.

    Open ##1597528

  • @nerb@techhub.social 2026-03-03 20:57

    @briankrebs That 2005 data breech was a big headache for me Wells Fargo who was my visa provider at the time called me and asked if I was in Connecticut buying stereo equipment. I was not so they cancelled the card and we though all was well. Over the course of the next few weeks multiple quick and instant credit applications were approved . Best was a vehicle dealer in Puerto Rico. Someone pretending to be me bought a car down there Somehow he got my home phone number and called. I told him sorry when he kept asking if I was sure I did not buy a vehicle. I asked him can't he repossess it and he responded it probably is already in pieces by now. I still have my credit locked.

    Open ##1597559

  • @birdpoof@mastodon.world 2026-03-03 21:13

    @briankrebs Oh yikes. Thomson Reuters (major product Westlaw which competes with LexisNexis) has CLEAR, wonder how often that's been breached.

    Open ##1597560

  • @SpaceLifeForm@infosec.exchange 2026-03-04 00:10

    @briankrebs And you get 2 years of free credit monitoring, if you update your PII. We will claim we were hacked later after we sold the data. Come back in 2 years. Rinse, lather, repeat. #Privacy

    Open ##1597561