Strauss Borrelli PLLC, a leading data breach law firm, is investigating MC2 Data regarding its recent cybersecurity incident. The MC2 Data cybersecurity incident may impact the privacy of sensitive personal information belonging to an undetermined number of individuals.
ABOUT MC2 DATA:
MC2 Data is a public records and background check company providing services to employers, landlords, and others.1 The services offered by MC2 Data and similar companies include the gathering, compilation, and analysis of data from a wide range of public sources such as criminal records, employment history, family data, and contact details.1 Today, the websites operated by MC2 Data include PrivateRecords.net, PrivateReports, PeopleSearcher, ThePeopleSearchers, and PeopleSearchUSA.1
WHAT HAPPENED?
Recently, it was reported by an online source that MC2 Data had experienced a cybersecurity incident impacting the privacy of its data. According to this source, on August 7th, a research team uncovered that the company left a database with 2.2TB of people’s data passwordless and easily accessible to anyone on the internet.1 The exposed database contained 106,316,633 records containing private information about US citizens, and estimates suggest that at least 100 million individuals were affected by this massive data leak.1 People and organizations needing background checks have also been exposed, as the data of 2,319,873 users who subscribed to MC2 Data services was leaked.1 The potentially leaked data included:
- Name
- Email and phone number
- IP address
- User agents
- Encrypted passwords
- Partial payment information
- Home address
- Date of birth
- Property records
- Legal records
- Family, relatives, neighbors’ data
- Employment history
According to the source, after discovering the exposed information, the researchers attempted to contact MC2 Data but received no response. However, soon after access to the database had been secured.1 At this time, it is not known how long these documents were exposed to the public or if anyone else may have accessed the database. As of September 25, 2024, MC2 Data has not publicly acknowledged the data exposure or confirmed whether the incident resulted in a data breach.
If you received a breach notification letter from MC2 Data:
We would like to speak with you about your rights and potential legal remedies in response to this data breach. Please fill out the form, below, or contact us at 872.263.1100 or sam@straussborrelli.com.
