Following the online publication of Social Security numbers and other sensitive data on high-profile Americans, the three major credit reporting bureaus say they’ve uncovered cases where hackers gained access to users’ information,
Bloomberg reports. The disclosure, while probably discomforting for many, offers but a glimpse of the sensitive data available to denizens of the cybercrime underworld, which hosts several storefronts that sell cheap, illegal access to consumer credit reports.
The
acknowledgement by
Experian,
Equifax and
Trans Union comes hours after hackers posted online Social Security numbers and other sensitive data on FBI Director
Robert Muller, First Lady
Michelle Obama, Paris Hilton and others.
Sadly, Social Security numbers and even credit reports are not difficult to find using inexpensive services advertised openly in several cybercrime forums. In most cases, these services are open to all comers; the only limitation is knowing the site’s current Web address (such sites tend to move frequently) and being able to fund an account with a virtual currency, such as
WebMoney or
Liberty Reserve.
