Data brokers are releasing sensitive information about U.S. service members to anyone with a few bucks and an email address, according to a new study published by Duke University. The study has sparked major concerns regarding the easy accessibility of sensitive online data.
The study shows that individuals accessed the personal records of thousands of U.S. military personnel from both foreign and domestic domains.
Oracle, Equifax, Experian, and CoreLogic are among the most popular data brokers. These companies collect millions of personal data records, including court records, voting records, driving records, and other public information that is largely purchased from credit card providers.
The information includes personal names, addresses, geo-location data, family member information, contact information, salary information and more.
Data brokers compile, collect, store, and sell the data, and according to one co-author of the study, “practically anybody” can buy it. The data is cheap and accessible. Customers can also specify their search to include only military-related data from more than 500 websites.
As part of the study, researchers purchased eight data sets from three different brokers. Each broker released between 5,000 to 15,000 identifiable records. In some cases, this even included information on the children of active-duty U.S. service members in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia. The cost of each record was between $0.12 to $0.32.
Some lawmakers are now calling for new privacy laws to regulate the online data industry.
“Data brokers are selling sensitive information about service members and their families for nickels without considering the serious national security risks.” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said of the report. “This report makes clear that we need real guardrails to protect the personal data of service members, veterans, and their families.”
Researchers were able to obtain data on U.S. military personnel even when accessing records from foreign “.asia” email addresses and IP addresses from Singapore. According to the researchers, the vetting process was slim-to-none. One broker even recommended paying for the data by wire transfer specifically to avoid any background checks.
The authors are calling on Congress to pass a comprehensive privacy law that restricts the data broker industry.
