The timing of newly available scans—typically within a day, if not hours, of me and a small sample of other victims presenting them at rental companies or others—likely means that Nexus has near real-time access to data flowing through the third-party scanning service these businesses are using. Over a span of 24 hours, Krebs said the number of driver’s licenses listed as available grew by almost 400,000. That’s another indication that the breach has been ongoing and new cards become available shortly after they’re harvested.
Using publicly available information, Krebs found that IDScan.net, a New Orleans-based ID scanning service, has announced an exclusive arrangement with Planet13. It also listed Hertz and 11 other companies as using its services. IDScan.net went on to say that its scans capture both infrared and ultraviolet spectra.
Representatives from IDScan didn’t immediately answer questions sent by email. An IDScan.net spokesperson told Krebs the company is investigating. My car rental company representatives also didn’t immediately answer questions.
The availability of my driver’s license to anyone willing to cough up a fee isn’t exactly a comforting thought. Yes, my personal details—including current and former addresses, Social Security number, demographics, and more—have been breached before, just as they have for millions, if not billions, of others around the world.
This dump is more troubling because of the purported availability of scans in ultraviolet and infrared. Fortunately, Nexus went dark within hours of the KrebsOnSecurity scoop, although that also means there’s no way for people to check if their IDs are included. Also somewhat consoling is the ongoing investigation by the FBI.
