I’m not sure if you check the Dark Web as often as I do – you know, the black market of the Internet where rogue military groups, drug and human traffickers do all their business. Either way, I came across an interesting breach earlier this week from Exactis that is potentially the scariest I’ve seen.
Exactis you ask? I hadn’t heard of them either. But they are just one of many data aggregation companies that create profiles about people based on their browsing patterns, social media, shopping and even driving patterns, then sell this information to advertisers so that they can better target you with their products. Ever wonder how ads seem to magically show up on your phone or computer screen that seem to have read your mind? Well, now you know why.
Unfortunately, Exactis left their database exposed to criminals, who stole it and gathered the email addresses, home addresses, and phone numbers as well as other personal information like habits, hobbies and the number, ages, and genders of the person’s children for over 340 million Americans (so everyone in this country). Here’s a link to the original news article if you want more details.
As you may have guessed, Exactis isn’t returning calls from reporters and want to keep this hush-hush.
Here’s how I can help – simply email me any email addresses you would like to have checked on the dark web and I’ll send you what I find. No charge, no tricks. Just want to help since we’re all in this together.
Stay safe out there.