The private data of millions of Americans has been leaked on the dark web by hackers after being exposed during a cyber attack.
Personal information, including social security numbers, was posted as a database for sale on the dark web, the Daily Caller reported.
One victim filed a lawsuit against the company National Public Data, alleging that it failed to keep private information safe.
The legal action stemmed from the actions of the hacker group USDoD.
The group claims to have obtained the information from the company.
The group put the database up for sale on the dark web on April 8 under the name “National Public Data.”
It’s asking $3.5 million for the trove of information, which includes the addresses, birth dates, and social security numbers of some 3 billion people.
The data goes back decades and even includes information on long-dead relatives.
The size and scope of this hack rival a 2013 Yahoo data breach that impacted billions of the website’s users.
The breach was the impetus for a lawsuit from California resident Christopher Hofmann.
He discovered that his data made it to the dark web after being notified by an identity theft monitoring company.
The plaintiff