Data breaches have become increasingly common over the last few years with the growing cyberattack capabilities of hacker groups and international criminal organizations. Recently, one of the most significant data breaches in history occurred after a hacker group known as USDoD hacked into Jerico Pictures Inc., a firm specializing in background checks. The data breach resulted in almost three billion people having their data leaked, and victims have filed a class action lawsuit against Jerico Pictures Inc. for failing to prevent the catastrophic cyber attack.
One of the largest issues resulting from USDoD’s breach is the lack of information for people victimized by the breach. Many victims aren’t aware their data has fallen into a hacker organization’s hands. The leaked data included victims’ addresses, full legal names, social security numbers, and information about living and dead relatives. Additionally, authorities aren’t entirely certain when USDoD initially hacked Jerico Pictures Inc., raising concerns about a prolonged cyber attack against international citizens.
One of the people responsible for the class action against Jerico Pictures Inc. shared information about how he learned about the data breach. According to the victim, Christopher Hofmann, he didn’t learn about the data breach until someone responsible for notifying him about potential identity theft reached out and informed him that his data was stolen. Hofmann pursued legal action against Jerico Pictures Inc. shortly after learning about the breach because hackers planned on using the data obtained through the cyber attack.
USDoD hacked into Jerico Pictures Inc. months before Hofmann learned about the breach and posted the leaked information on the dark web to find someone willing to purchase the stolen data. USDoD wanted to earn $3.5 million for the stolen data, and authorities do not know whether the group successfully auctioned off the victims’ information. The Jerico Pictures Inc. breach is one of the most significant data breaches in history, which some cybersecurity experts believe could become a common trend if businesses fail to use proper cybersecurity methods going forward.
