Social Security

Washington Post - A major dealer of personal background information confirmed that it had lost control of Social Security numbers and other sensitive data Friday, recommending that consumers put fraud alerts on their files at the biggest credit bureaus and keep a close watch on their financial accounts.National Public Data posted the warning on its website months after word began circulating of a massive breach, though it is unclear how many victims would think to connect to one obscure company in a sprawling and little-regulated market.

NPD acknowledged there had been a “security incident," saying a third party was “trying to hack into data” in December and that “potential leaks” popped up in April and August. The company said it conducted its own investigation into the incident and that “subsequent information has come to light," though it didn’t share what that information was.