Louisiana DMV Data Can Be Bought For 21 Million Bitcoin

With the weekend almost upon us, it was only a matter of time until a new data breach would make headlines. In this case. The Louisiana DMV has been breached, and the data is being sold on the deep web. Sources indicate over 250,000 driver’s license records are up for grabs at the time of writing.

Louisiana DMV Records Up For Grabs

TheMerkle_DMV Data Breach

Database solutions as we know them are inherently insecure and need to be replaced with better technology. Until that happens, data breaches will remain very common, and the Louisiana DMV breach is just one example of why things need to change. With over a quarter million driver’s license records being stolen, there is even more sensitive information for sale on the deep web.

Although this information mostly contains crime and traffic offenses, this is still a worrisome revelation. What is even more peculiar is how the most common year of birth in all of these records is 1983, albeit it is not clear what impact this will have. Records also contain first and last names, DOB, and home addresses.

But there is more to these details, as the offenses information includes which police district issued the ticket itself. While this type of data may not be useful to the average hacker, it could be used in social engineering attempts. Moreover, it could give ransomware spreaders an idea as to which law enforcement precincts to attack in the future.

Don’t be mistaken in thinking the Louisiana DMV details are up for a small price, though. The deep web listing has a sale price of 21 million Bitcoin – funnily enough – and the seller will never get that much money for it. There will only be 21 million Bitcoin ever generated, and it will take until 2140-ish until that happens.

Additionally, it remains unclear as to whether or not this data is real. The state of Louisiana has not confirmed or denied the DMV breach so far. This could indicate officials have no idea the breach took place to begin with, or that the information is utterly fake. One thing is for sure, though: data breaches will continue to occur as long as enterprises do not upgrade their security.

Source: Deep Dot Web

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