Key facts
- Hackers published hundreds of thousands of vehicle and driver data files from a Florida state database.
- The ShinyHunters group claimed the data was released due to unmet ransom demands.
- The Florida FLHSMV confirmed a data breach occurred in September.
- The breach involved stolen police officer credentials.
- Stolen data includes vehicle ownership certificates with names and addresses.
- Some files contained Social Security numbers and non-U.S. passports.
The ShinyHunters hacking group has published hundreds of thousands of files stolen from a Florida state database containing vehicle and driver information. The group stated the data was released because their ransom demands were not met.
The hackers claimed they breached the DAVID database earlier in September and posted a screenshot of a record purportedly belonging to the deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein as evidence.
The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) confirmed a data breach occurred last week, stating that hackers obtained a police officer's credentials stored on a personal device. An agency spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment regarding the published data.
According to a copy of the stolen data reviewed by TechCrunch, the breach included hundreds of thousands of vehicle ownership certificates containing names and addresses of buyers and sellers, as well as vehicle identification numbers. A smaller subset of files contained Social Security numbers and other government-issued documents like non-U.S. passports and immigration papers, but did not appear to include driver's licenses or photos.