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Database containing details of 56M US residents found on the public internet

theregister.co.uk

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Re: Database containing details of 56M US residents found on the public internet

#31

Post by quaquaqua1 »

deadmetheny wrote: post #29
quaquaqua1 wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A dna test was really helpful in finding all my half siblings and other family members because my biological dad is a sperm donor. The fact that my DNA can somehow turn up at the scene of a crime somewhere and the police can query the sample I sent to Ancestry x years ago, well, let's say that I already knew that risk going into it and it will have to be what it will have to be. In our lifetimes, I'm not seeing a way…

>Therefore, by definition, you can either find a way to cope within that surveillance state, or you can move to somewhere so remote and hidden that you can't be caught doing what they don't like. The problem with this is that by submitting your DNA, you're not handwaving away your own privacy - you're also making the decision for your relatives as well to handwave away their privacy. >In our lifetimes, I'm not seeing…

No, the only problem is that the government has access to the records, not that I gave my data to some private company.

It's like saying we shouldn't use cell phones and GPS because if our phones somehow interact with each other, your location data is given to my phone, and then my phone is less secure than yours and leaks both of our info to the government.

The only fault occurring here is the government's decision to gain access to and use this data

Re: Database containing details of 56M US residents found on the public internet

#32

Post by Keverw »

I’ve always wondered how those people finder sites get all this info. Do they just send a bunch of FOIAs to court houses and cities? I kinda figured maybe they paid to be wired in with the DMV and police computers maybe... I guess background check companies would be similar however they get the data.

I was looking on some before just curious and I noticed some information was inaccurate. Like looked up an old address, it said a dead relative used to live with us, when they never did. Then another site said one of our neighbors were a sex offender when not true.

Then there’s companies like LexisNexis too that have massive databases on people too. I think they have a way to run people’s credit without it actually showing up on people’s reports as I heard car dealers can get info on people credit without it showing up as a pull, so not sure if maybe it’s like a cached version of a credit report sold and traded.

Remembering watching some clips years ago on all these big data brokers on YouTube. Last I heard some of these companies won’t even delete your information unless you are a police officer who felt your life was in danger. Seems to still have a similar policy. https://www.lexisnexis.com/en-us/privacy/for-consumers/opt-o...

Re: Database containing details of 56M US residents found on the public internet

#33

Post by astura »

Keverw wrote: post #32

I’ve always wondered how those people finder sites get all this info. Do they just send a bunch of FOIAs to court houses and cities? I kinda figured maybe they paid to be wired in with the DMV and police computers maybe... I guess background check companies would be similar however they get the data. I was looking on some before just curious and I noticed some information was inaccurate. Like looked up an old address…

Where I live court records and property records are completely public and available for anyone to view online. So just simple web scraping. Voter records aren't online as far as I'm aware, but they're easy to request.

Re: Database containing details of 56M US residents found on the public internet

#34

Post by astura »

flurdy wrote: post #2

Paging https://haveibeenpwned.com and https://twitter.com/troyhunt

First off, this is all just public information.

Secondly the location of the database was not disclosed by the researcher, so he can't exactly load it into haveibeenpwned

Re: Database containing details of 56M US residents found on the public internet

#35

Post by astura »

swarnie_ wrote: post #17

General question to HN because i don't know the answer. Has anyone ever tried de-duplicating and matching up records between multiple leaks to build user/person profiles? I guess with enough unique keys, compute power and time you could build a reasonably accurate profile of a person by matching up email addresses, phone number or SN numbers? Would probably make identify thief and fraud a lot easier going forwards.

Data broker-type companies do this already and sell it. They even include stuff like your probable religion, probable income/net worth, probable hobbies/interests, etc.

For example:

>Each record contains entries that go far beyond contact information and public records to include more than 400 variables on a vast range of specific characteristics: whether the person smokes, their religion, whether they have dogs or cats, and interests as varied as scuba diving and plus-size apparel.

https://www.wired.com/story/exactis-database-leak-340-millio...

HN Discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17421140

Re: Database containing details of 56M US residents found on the public internet

#36

Post by mindslight »

alistairSH wrote: post #26
awb wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You also added your entire close family to the searchable registry by submitting your DNA. Noob question, but how does this work?

Roughly... Crime is committed, police find DNA sample at scene, police compare sample with online DNA registry, hits as a near-match for personX, police now know that a sibling/cousin of personX is the culprit. That sibling/cousin never allowed their own DNA to be collected. This happened in 2018... https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/true-crime/wp/2018/04/27...

... police now think that ...

To me, that is the real threat - false positives. myopic reliance on the database, and an assumption the computer is always correct.

Re: Database containing details of 56M US residents found on the public internet

#37

Post by stevenicr »

tapland wrote: post #24
awb wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You also added your entire close family to the searchable registry by submitting your DNA. Noob question, but how does this work?

Your DNA is extremely similar to your close relatives. Those murderers found through 23 and me data? They didn't submit their DNA, their family members did.

I may have a story saved on an old sd card somewhere.. but I think it was Italian? A major crime was solved by pattern matching DNA to a close relative, which brought about a few people in the town who's DNA was 90(?)% similar or something.. they did find the killer/rapist whatever they were looking for..

but the process of investigating and questioning led investigators, family members, and through rumor / whispering and news articles to discover that one of the grandparents (of a well known family) had cheated and birthed a love child that was assumed to be of whatever family name.. and then they had kids - and they all had positions in the town.. but now the truth was known that none of those grand kids, their families, etc were actually part of the whatever-family-name dynasty.

A whole group of people and a town and some industries changed forever because dna is similar (and much dna is not as well) - and the use of this technique roping in and affecting others that had nothing to do with alleged crime - certainly can have other real world consequences.

Re: Database containing details of 56M US residents found on the public internet

#38

Post by Keverw »

astura wrote: post #33
Keverw wrote: post #32

I’ve always wondered how those people finder sites get all this info. Do they just send a bunch of FOIAs to court houses and cities? I kinda figured maybe they paid to be wired in with the DMV and police computers maybe... I guess background check companies would be similar however they get the data. I was looking on some before just curious and I noticed some information was inaccurate. Like looked up an old address…

Where I live court records and property records are completely public and available for anyone to view online. So just simple web scraping. Voter records aren't online as far as I'm aware, but they're easy to request.

I know some of it makes it to the paper too, like bankruptcies or divorces if you don't know where they currently live, but I know some of that stuff is under a paywall or got to pay to make copies at the court house but probably depends on the area.

I was looking at one site about red light camera tickets since there's been debates over them, some states even outlawed them. But looking at one of the examples, some county didn't even have a secure website to put in license and credit card info. Chrome even put a warning next to the address bar. Not sure why they are allowed to process credit cards since a private website would have to be compliance with PCI. But I guess some areas are more technical than others.

Re: Database containing details of 56M US residents found on the public internet

#39

Post by astura »

Keverw wrote: post #38
astura wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where I live court records and property records are completely public and available for anyone to view online. So just simple web scraping. Voter records aren't online as far as I'm aware, but they're easy to request.

I know some of it makes it to the paper too, like bankruptcies or divorces if you don't know where they currently live, but I know some of that stuff is under a paywall or got to pay to make copies at the court house but probably depends on the area. I was looking at one site about red light camera tickets since there's been debates over them, some states even outlawed them. But looking at one of the examples, some c…

Divorces and bankruptcies are included in court records and are available online in my state.

Property transfers are posted in the newspaper.

Re: Database containing details of 56M US residents found on the public internet

#40

Post by Keverw »

astura wrote: post #39
Keverw wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know some of it makes it to the paper too, like bankruptcies or divorces if you don't know where they currently live, but I know some of that stuff is under a paywall or got to pay to make copies at the court house but probably depends on the area. I was looking at one site about red light camera tickets since there's been debates over them, some states even outlawed them. But looking at one of the examples, some c…

Divorces and bankruptcies are included in court records and are available online in my state. Property transfers are posted in the newspaper.

For the entire state? I figured a county by county thing. But I do think more legal case law and publicly funded research should be open to the public. I know people feel that way about PACER, so someone created a plugin called Recap.
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