Florida drivers whose records were exposed in a September breach of the state's driver license and vehicle database should start finding letters in their mailboxes, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles said Friday in what Florida Politics reported was its first update on the breach since September.
The department said it will mail notices this week to current driver license and identification card holders who may have been affected, and that it has hired Sontiq Inc., a TransUnion company, to give them a year of free identity and credit monitoring along with $1 million in identity theft insurance. The letters will explain how to sign up.
What happened
According to a question-and-answer page the department has posted online, FLHSMV learned on Sept. 4 that an international cybercriminal organization had gotten into one of its systems. The intruder used login credentials belonging to an employee of a local Florida law enforcement agency, the department said, and that employee had improperly stored them on an electronic device.
Florida Politics reported that a statement the agency posted to social media in September identified the account as belonging to a single Plant City Police Department user.
The department says the records that may have been taken include driver license data, motor vehicle information, document images and other personal information. It says the breach was quickly contained, that there is no sign of continuing unauthorized access, and that it has no evidence so far that anyone's information has been misused.
The Florida Digital Service and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement are working with the agency on what it calls an ongoing criminal investigation.
Florida Politics, which pressed the agency for details in September, reported that a hacking group known as ShinyHunters claimed on Sept. 3 that it had the data and set a Sept. 11 deadline for the state to make a deal. The department's statement does not mention any attempt to recover the data. FLHSMV has not said how many people were affected.
If you no longer have a Florida license
The department is also posting a public notice for people it may not be able to reach by mail, including those who no longer hold a valid Florida license or ID card and those who once had a vehicle titled in Florida.
