A Louisiana-based identity verification company is facing an FBI investigation after more than 153 million U.S. and Canadian driver's licenses were discovered for sale on the dark web.
The exposed data, traced to a suspected breach at IDScan.net, was briefly listed for sale through a service called Nexus, which was advertised on the Russian cybercrime forum Exploit. According to reports, the sellers claimed they had been extracting data for over a year.
The leaked records included front and back scans of licenses with infrared and ultraviolet images, along with timestamps corresponding to visits to IDScan.net clients including Hertz and Planet13 dispensaries. People who reviewed the exposed records confirmed they matched actual transactions.
IDScan.net processes more than 21 million identity checks monthly for businesses including Target, FedEx, and Caesars Entertainment. The company has not confirmed a breach but stated it is investigating the matter. A company representative said, "At this point I'm not able to share any additional information but the updates you have provided have been welcome and helpful to our team's investigation."
The FBI's New Orleans field office has launched an inquiry into the apparent breach. Nexus subsequently went offline and posted a notice that it was no longer available.
