Millions of California Drivers’ Information May Have Been Exposed in DMV Breach

An estimated 38 million records may have been compromised in a cyberattack affecting the California DMV earlier this month, according to a recent statement by agency officials.

This comes after an outside vendor, Automatic Funds Transfer Service (AFTS), was reportedly targeted in a ransomware attack. While California DMV records were not directly accessed, officials warned that data thieves may have gotten ahold of vehicle registration records held by AFTS, including names, addresses, plate numbers, and VINs.

Though there has not yet been a class action lawsuit filed over the reported California DMV data breach, Top Class Actions will continue to monitor this developing story to help keep consumers informed.

In a statement, a DMV spokesperson said that the California DMV hack was going on, undetected, for at least 20 months, potentially compromising any Californian who registered a vehicle during that time.

“We are investigating this recent data breach…in order to quickly provide clarity on how it may impact Californians,” DMV Director Steve Gordon said in a statement. “We are looking at additional measures to implement to bolster security to protect information held by the DMV and companies that we contract with.”

The Seattle-based tech company AFTS has handled change of address verification for the California DMV system since 2019, according to Tech Crunch. The service is reportedly used across the country to verify addresses, as well as process payments and invoices.

The company reported that it was the victim of a ransomware attack, with cyber thieves gaining access to data and then locking the company out. The hackers demanded money for AFTS to gain access to its system, but the company reportedly declined to indicate how much money or if they paid the ransom demand.

“While the DMV Investigations branch has no indication at this time that information accessed by the ransomware attack on AFTS has been used by the attackers for any nefarious reason, the DMV urges customers to report any suspect activity to law enforcement,” DMV spokesperson Anita Gore reportedly said in the announcement.

Are you concerned that your information was exposed in the California DMV data breach? Tell us what you think in the comment section below.

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