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The SSN Breach: What Now?

a16z Podcast

NOTE

Data Breach Exposes Personal Information of US and Canadian Citizens

A significant data breach has revealed that a third-party company, which collects information for identity validation, has exposed personal data of US and Canadian citizens. This data set includes full names, social security numbers, addresses, and even nicknames. The breach has a widespread impact, affecting not just the US but also Canada. Hackers attempted to sell the data on the dark web, but when it failed to attract buyers, they released it for free, resulting in a large file of hundreds of gigabytes containing sensitive information. The breach occurred in December 2023, and the data was made publicly accessible in August 2024 by a hacker on a forum. Both the existence of the data and its contents have been verified, confirming that the leaked information is credible, despite some initial uncertainty in reports about its authenticity.

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