Technology
FBI investigates dark web service selling over 153 million driver's licenses
A newly emerged identity theft platform offered millions of North American ID scans apparently linked to an identity verification vendor.
The short version
- A dark web operation named Nexus offered for sale digital scans of more than 153 million driver's licenses, mainly from the United States and Canada.
- Investigative findings linked the leaked scans and timestamps to businesses using Louisiana-based identity verification provider idscan.net.
- The FBI's New Orleans field office opened an inquiry into an apparent breach involving idscan.net, after which the Nexus portal went offline.
- The full scope of affected individuals and the definitive technical origin of the breach remain under active investigation.
Key facts
- A cybercrime service called Nexus offered more than 153 million driver's licenses alongside millions of other ID and medical records for sale on the dark web.[Hacker News]
- The New Orleans field office of the FBI initiated an official investigation into an apparent breach tied to identity verification company idscan.net.[Hacker News]
- Victims identified in the dataset found that scan timestamps matched transactions at businesses using idscan.net technology, including Hertz and cannabis dispensaries.[Hacker News]
- Idscan.net acknowledged that it opened an internal investigation into the matter following inquiries from researchers.[Hacker News]
- The Nexus website was taken offline shortly after the reporting was published, displaying a note that the platform was no longer available.[Hacker News]
What remains uncertain
- Whether idscan.net was the direct or sole source of the compromised records has not been formally confirmed by the company or law enforcement.[Hacker News]
- The full total of unique individuals compromised remains unverified beyond the counts displayed by the threat actors on the illicit platform.[Hacker News]