Hackers publish thousands of drivers’ data after breaching Florida motor vehicle database

The ShinyHunters collective has published a large cache of files taken from Florida’s DAVID vehicle and driver database after saying the state agency refused to pay a ransom. The group posted the materials on its leak site and supplied a screenshot it said was a record tied to the deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who had a residence in Florida.

TechCrunch reviewed a copy of the stolen data and reported that the bulk of the leaked files are certificates of vehicle ownership containing buyers’ and sellers’ names, addresses and vehicle identification numbers (VINs). A smaller set of documents appears to include Social Security numbers and other government-issued papers such as non-U.S. passports and immigration records. The published files did not appear to contain driver’s licenses or photographs.

The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles confirmed a breach in a statement last week. According to reporting, the intrusion occurred after attackers obtained a police officer’s credentials that were stored on a personal device. FLHSMV did not respond to TechCrunch’s follow-up request for comment about the published data.

The incident arrives in the same month that a separate large-scale breach at identity verification company IDScan exposed more than 150 million images of driver’s licenses, highlighting a wider pattern of exposures involving sensitive identity data. The ShinyHunters group said it released the Florida files because the agency did not cooperate or pay their demands, leaving affected individuals and officials to contend with the consequences of the published records.