The website behind large-scale social security loopholes exist again

National Public Data – an online background check and fraud prevention service that hackers target one of the biggest social security vulnerabilities of all time – is back. It may still pose a security threat.

In 2024, the private company announced that a malicious actor gained access to the system during a December 2023 violation, leaking information for months to the web’s black market. It took longer for the state public data to disclose details of the violation to the public, which reveals nearly three decades of social security records – an estimated hundreds of millions of records that hackers have accessed. Data includes social security numbers, full names, addresses, emails and phone numbers, prompting many to freeze their credit and continue to defend against identity theft.

The site closed last year after the scandal, but now it seems that the National Public Data is back in the personal information game. PC MAG reports that the domain is active again and runs with the new unnamed owner. The website is running as a human search engine and appears to still store personal data obtained from public sources, including federal databases.

At the bottom of the homepage, the new national public data links to a statement about the 2023 violation. The website’s FAQ says: “The security of our data is our most important factor. That’s why we protect it by implementing strong encryption protocols, regularly updating our security systems and complying with all relevant data protection regulations.”

How to opt out of search for national public data

Like other people’s search engines, individuals must request that their personal information not be displayed on the website. To do this, users must fill out the company’s opt-out form. Individuals will need to first look up on the website itself and copy it to their personal data profile.

Individuals can also use the personal data deletion service to immediately scrub information from multiple sites, or they can manually delete their information from search sites such as Google.