social security breach: It's possible that hackers have taken all Americans' Social Security numbers.

 According to a recent lawsuit, hackers allegedly obtained the personal data of "billions of individuals," including Social Security numbers, addresses from both the past and the present, and the names of parents and siblings. This kind of personal information could enable fraudsters to open bank accounts or apply for loans in the names of the victims.

Christopher Hofmann, a resident of California, filed a lawsuit earlier this month alleging that his identity theft protection service notified him that his personal information had been compromised by the "nationalpublicdata.com" hack and was now available on the dark web. Bloomberg Law first reported on the lawsuit.

A hacker collective known as USDoD is said to have gained access to billions of people's unencrypted personal data from a company called National Public Data (NPD) in April 2024.

a background-check business, as stated in the lawsuit. According to the tech website Bleeping Computer, a hacker released a version of the stolen NPD data for free on a hacking forum earlier this month.

 According to Bleeping Computer, the hacker claimed that the stolen files contained 2.7 billion records, each of which included a person's full name, address, date of birth, Social Security number, and phone number.

A request for comment from NPD was not immediately answered.

National Public Data: What Is It?
Employers, investigators, and other organizations wishing to check people's backgrounds can obtain background checks from National Public Data, a data company with its headquarters located in Coral Springs, Florida. According to its website, it searches for SSN traces, criminal records, vital records, and more.

What was the outcome of the USDOD hack?
The new lawsuit claims that on April 8, the US Department of Defense uploaded a database called "National Public Data" to the dark web, claiming to contain information on approximately 2.9 billion people. According to the lawsuit, it was requesting a $3.5 million purchase price. 

Did NPD notify people about the security breach?
The lawsuit alleges that NPD "has still not provided any notice or warning" to Hoffman or other individuals affected by the breach, but it's unclear.


The lawsuit asserts that, contrary to information and belief, the great majority of Class Members were not aware that their private information had been compromised and that they remained seriously vulnerable to identity theft and other forms of financial, social, and personal harm.

According to information security firm McAfee, no filings have been discovered with state attorneys general. Companies that have suffered data breaches are required by some states to report the incident to their AG offices. 

What steps should I take to safeguard my data?
Consumers should freeze their credit files at the three major credit bureaus—Expperian, Equifax, and TransUnion—according to security experts' advice. It costs nothing to freeze your credit, and it will deter dishonest people from applying for loans or creating credit cards in your name.

A tracking service that notifies you in the event that your data is exposed on the dark web is another option. Additionally, you should sign up for two-factor authentication, as this will increase the difficulty of hackers accessing your accounts.