Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey announced that he has launched an investigation into National Public Data, a background check company that allows its customers to search billions of records with instant results, over allegations that they failed to properly secure and safeguard Missourians’ personally identifiable information.
Bailey's office says information potentially at risk of being exposed in this breach included Social Security numbers, current and past addresses, full names and other private records.
“I will always fight for Missouri consumers, especially if their personal information was stolen by bad actors,” Bailey said in a media release about the investigation. “Companies have a duty under the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act to safeguard Missourians’ personally identifiable information, and Missourians deserve to know whether their information is at risk. No stone will be left unturned in this investigation.”
Bailey
| File photo
The Attorney General’s Office became aware of the issue after public reporting on the breach, which alleges cybercriminal group USDoD gained access to National Public Data’s network of information and exfiltrated the unencrypted data of 2.9 billion people. USDoD allegedly put the database up for sale for $3.5 million.
This is not the first time Bailey has taken to protect the personal information of Missouri consumers.
In addition to filing suit against a group of tax preparation companies for leaking taxpayer information to big technology companies, his office previously has brought successful actions against large companies such as Experian, T-Mobile and the cloud computing provider Blackbaud for failing to protect consumers’ private data.
“I am going to use every tool at my disposal to protect Missourians’ personal information," Bailey said. "If you believe you have been affected by this breach, please reach out to my office by calling our Consumer Protection Hotline at 1 (800) 392-8222 or by submitting a complaint online at ago.mo.gov.”
National Public Data is a Florida-based credit and criminal background check company operated by Jerico Pictures Inc.
According to its website, National Public Data "services are currently used by investigators, background check websites, data resellers, mobile apps, applications and more. Have access to the greatest level of public information retrieval available on the Internet."
Several lawsuits have been filed against the company in the wake of the data breach.
While National Public Data did not offer a direct method of checking with the company itself to see if your data has been leaked, its website suggests you monitor your credit reports and stay in contact with the three major credit reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.
National Public Data also suggests you freeze your credit card if you think you have been victimized by the National Public Data breach.
"As a first step, we recommend that you closely monitor your financial accounts and if you see any unauthorized activity, you should promptly contact your financial institution," National Public Data suggested on its website. "As a second step, you may want to contact the three U.S. credit reporting agencies to obtain a free credit report from each by calling 1-877-322-8228 or by logging onto www.annualcreditreport.com."