Nexus dark web service sells 153 million stolen driver's licenses

data breach dark web identity theft driver's license Nexus

A massive data breach involving the digital scans of over 153 million driver's licenses from the United States and Canada has been discovered on a dark web service named Nexus. The trove reportedly includes more than 10 million ID cards, 3 million travel documents, and approximately 579,000 medical cards. The stolen data is highly sensitive, containing high-resolution images of the front and back of documents, as well as infrared and ultraviolet scans used for authentication.

The FBI's New Orleans field office has launched an official investigation into the incident. Preliminary findings by cybersecurity journalist Brian Krebs suggest the breach may be linked to IDScan.net, a Louisiana-based identity verification provider used by numerous Fortune 500 companies, including Hertz and FedEx. The Nexus service, which was advertised on the Russian cybercrime forum Exploit, reportedly claimed to have been exfiltrating data for over a year.

The breach has significant national security implications, as the stolen data includes the identification of high-ranking U.S. officials, such as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and an FBI assistant director. Experts warn that the availability of such detailed biometric and identity data poses an unprecedented risk for large-scale identity theft and fraud.

Entities

Brian Krebs · FBI · Hertz · IDScan.net · Nexus · Pete Hegseth · Planet13

Claims

What the coverage asserts, and how many sources carry each claim.

[● 21 SOURCES] The stolen scans include infrared and ultraviolet images of the identification documents. www.singtaousa.com · www.drweb.de · metro.co.uk · www.wnd.com · gizmodo.com · +16 more
[● 21 SOURCES] The Nexus service claims to offer more than 153 million driver's license scans from the US and Canada. www.singtaousa.com · www.europesays.com · www.drweb.de · san.com · boingboing.net · +16 more
[● 11 SOURCES] The leaked data includes the driver's license of U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. www.europesays.com · san.com · metro.co.uk · uk.pcmag.com · www.wnd.com · +6 more
[● 5 SOURCES] The dark web service Nexus claims to have been exfiltrating data for over a year. san.com · uk.pcmag.com · gizmodo.com · www.singtaousa.com · www.it-connect.fr
[● 14 SOURCES] The FBI's New Orleans field office has launched an official investigation into the data breach. www.singtaousa.com · www.europesays.com · www.drweb.de · boingboing.net · krebsonsecurity.com · +9 more
[● 12 SOURCES] The data breach appears to be linked to the identity verification company idscan.net. www.singtaousa.com · www.drweb.de · san.com · uk.pcmag.com · gizmodo.com · +7 more
[● 4 SOURCES] The Nexus service website has since been taken offline following media reports. www.singtaousa.com · uk.pcmag.com · wltreport.com
[● 21 SOURCES] The stolen data includes more than 10 million ID cards, 3 million travel documents, and 579,000 medical cards. www.singtaousa.com · www.europesays.com · www.drweb.de · san.com · boingboing.net · +16 more