A new dark web platform called Nexus claimed to be selling 153 million driver’s license scans and millions of other identity and medical cards.
The collection included more than 153 million driver’s licenses, 10 million ID cards, 3 million travel documents, and 579,000 medical cards, including marijuana dispensary cards, according to reports.
The trove of driver’s license scans reported by KrebsOnSecurity is a sharp reminder that identity verification is not a harmless box-ticking exercise.
The FBI’s New Orleans field office has opened an investigation into an apparent breach involving identity verification provider IDScan.net. The company said it was investigating.
More than 153 million licenses from the U.S. and Canada were found on the dark web, according to the digital security blog
IDScan.net advertises as follows:
We provide simple, secure solutions to help dispensaries reduce liability and protect their licenses by validating IDs, including a customer’s age, in a matter of seconds
The allegedly exposed records were especially concerning because some included more than a basic photo of an ID. KrebsOnSecurity found records containing front-and-back images, as well as infrared and ultraviolet scans, with timestamps that appeared to align with the holders’ travel or car-rental activity.
That matters because a driver’s license is far more useful to an identity thief than a password. You can reset a password. You cannot easily replace your face, date of birth, address, or license number, particularly when they’re accompanied by high-resolution images of your government-issued ID.
