The National Public Data is responsible for managing extensive personal records, and they have recently confirmed a major data breach. The initial reports and hacker leakers claim that up to 2.9 billion personal records may have been affected. On their release, the NPD confirmed, “There appears to have been a data security incident that may have involved some of your personal information.
“The incident is believed to have involved a third-party bad actor that was trying to hack into data in late December 2023, with potential leaks of certain data in April 2024 and summer 2024.” After investigating more thoroughly, NPD confirmed the breach affected 1.3 million people. Though it is a better figure compared to the initial estimate, it is still impactful. This is one of the biggest recent breaches.
What Types Of Personal Information Were Compromised?
The data breach at NPD exposed a range of sensitive personal information critical to individual privacy. Data leaked included: names, email addresses, phone numbers, Social Security numbers, mailing addresses of users.
The breach, traced back to a third-party hacker’s activities in late December 2023, led to several leaks throughout 2024. These leaks posed a severe risk of identity theft and fraud, prompting urgent responses from affected users and the company. These leaks opened up a huge risk of identity theft and fraud, and so urgent attention had to be brought to respond to this breach.
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How Did NPD Respond To The Breach?
In response to the breach, NPD took steps to address and fix the damage, so that they can prevent future incidents. The company worked with law enforcement to find the source of the breach as well as review all affected records. They have rolled out measures that will help prevent this going forward, saying, “We have also implemented additional security measures in efforts to prevent the reoccurrence of such a breach and to protect our systems.”
NPD has urged all affected individuals to remain vigilant by closely monitoring their financial accounts for any unusual activity. The company advised them to obtain free credit reports from the three major U.S. credit reporting agencies—Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.
How To Stay Protected Going Forward
On a general note, anyone with access to the internet should find ways to protect themselves as much as possible. Keeping sensitive information safely is so important when it comes to the digital world. The breach serves as a reminder for users to proactively protect their personal information through monitoring and using tools like fraud alerts and credit freezes.
Placing a fraud alert on credit files was recommended by NPD, because this helps prevent identity thieves from opening new accounts in their name. For those who need an extra layer of security, a credit freeze was suggested, blocking potential creditors from accessing credit reports altogether. They advised, “Ask each credit bureau to send you a free credit report after it places a fraud alert on your file. Review your credit reports for accounts and inquiries you do not recognise. These can be signs of identity theft.”
