The personal data and social security numbers of children are for sale on the dark web

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If you hadn’t noticed, I tend to write a lot of articles about privacy, security, data leaks and the like. It’s a subject I’m very interested in and I like to think that more people are taking an interest in it as well. If you’re not taking an interest in it then maybe this report from Motherboard will change your mind. According to the report, the personal data and social security numbers of children are being sold on the dark web.

If you’re not familiar with the dark web, well, let’s just say it’s probably better that you stay away from such things. The dark web is where people go to find the things you can’t find anywhere else on the regular web, everything from human trafficking to the sale of personal data. According to Motherboard, a data broker is advertising stolen personal information directly related to children. Motherboard says the information allegedly comes from hospitals and pediatricians.

Emily Wilson, VP of research at cybersecurity firm Terbium Labs first alerted Motherboard to the data listings. “Dream” is likely the largest dark web market online at the moment. “For very young children it’s reasonable to assume criminals are sourcing the data through access points in hospital networks or government systems. In this case, the vendor is explicit about the hospital connection,” Wilson told Motherboard in an email.

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Names, addresses, dates-of-birth, and phone numbers are included along with the aforementioned social security numbers. Motherboard says the listing on the dark web has enough information to commit fraud with. The information being sold is said to be from children with birth years between 2000-2010. This means there is ample time for damage to be done to their credit should their identity be stolen.

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“When we’re talking about infants or very young children, the number of possible sources for data is fairly limited: governments and hospitals, in most cases. As children get older, their data starts to enter the system more broadly, through school registrations and other activities,” Wilson said.

There’s a whole lot of work to do when it comes to securing private data. Banking institutions, government institutions, and medical practices all need to up their game to stay one step ahead of bad actors. With the private data of children being stolen and sold on the dark web. Who knows what sort of damage they’ll encounter in their futures because of this?

What do you think of this story? Let us know in the comments below or on Google+, Twitter, or Facebook. You can also comment on our MeWe page by joining the MeWe social network.

[button link=”https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/zmd78y/childrens-personal-data-social-security-numbers-dark-web?utm_source=reddit.com” icon=”fa-external-link” side=”left” target=”blank” color=”285b5e” textcolor=”ffffff”]Source: Motherboard[/button]

Last Updated on February 3, 2021.

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