What is National Public Data? More on the leak, and how to protect your personal data

Little has been made or known about National Public Data before the company suffered a massive data breach which leaked the personal information, including addresses and Social Security numbers, of roughly 2.9 billion people .

As lawsuits against National Public Data begin to pile up, here's what you need to know about the centralized personal data collecting company, and steps you can a take now to see if your personal data has been compromised.

What is National Public Data?

National Public Data is a Florida-based credit and criminal background check company operated by Jerico Pictures, Inc .

"Our services are currently used by investigators, background check websites, data resellers, mobile apps, applications and more," read National Public Data's website . "Have access to the greatest level of public information retrieval available on the Internet."

Was your personal information leaked by National Public Data? How to check

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 instead suggested that 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 advised. "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 ."

How did this massive data breach happen?

According to one of the lawsuits, cybercriminal group USDoD accessed the network of National Public Data and stole unencrypted personal information . Around April 8, 2024, the group posted a database on the dark web, claiming it contained information on about 2.9 billion people and putting it up for sale at $3.5 million.

The plaintiff in that case, Christopher Hofmann of Fremont, California, was notified by an identity theft protection service that his data had been compromised and found on the dark web as a result of the data breach.

Damon C. Williams is a Philadelphia-based journalist reporting on trending topics across the Mid-Atlantic Region.

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: What is National Public Data? More on the leak, and how to protect your personal data