Florida DMV investigates breach after alleged hack by international cybercriminal group

The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) announced on Friday that it is investigating a data breach believed to have been carried out by an international cybercriminal organization. Law-enforcement agencies have taken over the investigation and the agency says the intrusion has been contained, though details of the compromised information have not been disclosed.

The incident follows a separate breach reported by IDscan.net, a vendor that scans driver’s licenses for private companies, which claimed that hackers stole 160 million IDs, prompting a federal inquiry. While the two attacks appear unrelated, they underscore growing concerns about the security of personal data in the United States.

A dark-web group known as ShinyHunters posted a claim that it had obtained data from the Florida DMV and set a deadline of Sept. 11 for a payment to prevent release of the files. The post included a screenshot allegedly showing a driver’s license belonging to Jeffrey Epstein, though the authenticity of the image could not be verified. After FLHSMV issued its statement, the group removed references to the state.

"When a victim is missing from a blog, it typically means that there was a negotiation," said Ian Gray, vice president of intelligence at threat-monitoring firm Flashpoint.

FLHSMV declined to comment on whether it was in talks with the hackers. The FBI confirmed it is investigating the IDscan.net breach, and the company acknowledged that an unauthorized third party may have accessed or copied customer data stored in its cloud system.