DRIVERS have been warned to keep a close eye on their personal information after driver’s licenses were leaked in a data breach.
Worries are growing that the information will be used to steal victims’ hard-earned money after one person lost $29,000 over a compromised driver’s license.
With information from a stolen driver’s license, hackers can commit identity theft and fraud on a serious scale.
The warning comes as Hewlett Packard Enterprise is reaching out to victims affected by a cyberattack that took place in 2023.
The leaked information includes Social Security numbers, financial account information, driver’s licenses, and credit card numbers, according to a notice filed with the State Attorney General’s Office of Massachusetts.
In May 2023, HPE’s Microsoft-hosted email systems and Sharepoint environments were breached, resulting in the pilfering of data from a “small percentage” of HPE mailboxes.
HPE was made aware of the breach on December 12 and publicly disclosed it in January 2024.
The company blamed a hacker group affiliated with Russia’s foreign intelligence service that has been linked to numerous high-profile cyberattacks.
The group, Midnight Blizzard, is notorious for a supply chain attack on SolarWinds in 2020.
HPE has not disclosed the total number of people impacted.
More than a dozen victims have been contacted by HPE so far regarding the recent attack.
STOLEN LICENSE DANGERS
Cyberattacks have increasingly targeted driver’s license information as the personal details can be used to commit identity theft.
With a stolen driver’s license, or with driver’s license information obtained through a data breach, hackers can apply for credit cards, loans, cellular service, unemployment, and more.
They can even commit crimes while posing as the victim.
Stolen license warning
What can hackers do with your driver's license information?
Your driver’s license contains enough information that hackers can use it to steal your identity.
They can apply for credit cards, bank loans, cellular service, unemployment benefits, create fake IDs, and commit crimes all under your name.
Victims whose driver’s license information has been leaked often have no way of learning that their identity has been stolen until they attempt to renew their licenses.
A report from the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) included examples of how stolen driver’s license information has been used to commit fraud against a number of victims.
In one case, a person whose license was stolen learned that a loan for a $29,000 motorcycle had been taken out in their name without their knowledge.
Another victim found out that they had two years’ worth of traffic violations linked to a car that was not theirs.
And, a third driver whose information was leaked found out a hacker opened a financial account and credit card under their name and looted their 401(k).
The ITRC warns cyber crimes are skyrocketing, with the number of data breaches rising from 72% between 2022 and 2023, and 312% between 2023 and 2024.
The State Attorney General’s Office of Massachusetts did not immediately respond to The U.S. Sun’s request for comment.
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