Hackers may have stolen the Social Security numbers of every American. Here’s how to protect yourself

The breach, which includes Social Security numbers and other sensitive data, could power a raft of identity theft, one expert says. The breach, which includes Social Security numbers and other sensitive data, could power a raft of identity theft, fraud and other crimes, said Teresa Murray, consumer watchdog director for the U.S. Public Interest Research Group. “And if people weren’t taking precautions in the past, which they should have been doing, this should be a five-alarm wake-up call for them.” According to a class-action lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., the hacking group USDoD claimed in April to have stolen personal records of 2.9 billion people from National Public Data, which offers personal information to employers, private investigators, staffing agencies and others doing background checks. It has, however, been telling people who contacted it via email that “we are aware of certain third-party claims about consumer data and are investigating these issues.” In that email, the company also said that it had “purged the entire database, as a whole, of any and all entries, essentially opting everyone out.” As a result, it said, it has deleted any “non-public personal information” about people, although it added, “We may be required to retain certain records to comply with legal obligations.” Several news outlets that focus on cybersecurity have looked at portions of the data Felice offered and said they appear to be real people’s actual information. “For somebody who’s really suave at it,” Murray said, “the possibilities are really endless.” It’s also possible that criminals could use information from previous data breaches to add email addresses to the data from the reported National Public Data leak.