Top US stars hit by D&B breach

Beyonce, Kanye West, Jay Z and Michelle Obama are among the top US figures who have had their personal data breached by a hack attack on leading data broking sites – including Dun & Bradstreet – according to a new probe.
A seven-month investigation by US security researcher Brian Krebs found that a US website – exposed.su – published social security numbers, birth records and credit and background reports of a number of famous Americans.  The site has since been taken offline.
The study found that the attacks were masterminded by a cybercrime gang that was selling on the stolen data for between 50 cents and $2.50 per record. The move has forced Dun & Bradstreet, Kroll Background and Reed Elsevier’s LexisNexis to admit they had been victims of the breach.
Although there is no evidence that the scam has affected its UK division, a D&B spokeswoman said the company was “aggressively investigating” the attack. Kroll said it was working with external forensics’ experts on an internal investigation; LexisNexis, meanwhile, said it has so far found no evidence of theft.
In a statement D&B said: “Data security is a company priority and we are devoting all resources necessary to ensure that security.”

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