Social Security involves sensitive identity data, benefit records, and government systems that can be targeted for fraud, theft, or unauthorized misuse.
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Social Security is the U.S. federal program that provides retirement, disability, and survivor benefits, funded primarily through payroll taxes. A Social Security number (SSN), issued for administering the program, is also widely used by employers, financial institutions, government agencies, and other organizations to identify people and verify eligibility.
For security practitioners, SSNs are high-value personal data: exposure can support identity theft, fraudulent benefit claims, unauthorized account creation, or targeted phishing, especially when combined with names, birth dates, or financial information. Relevant controls include collecting and retaining SSNs only when necessary, restricting and auditing access, encrypting them in storage and transit, and using multifactor authentication and stronger identity proofing for benefit and administrative accounts. Organizations should also monitor for anomalous changes or claims and include SSN exposure in privacy assessments and incident-response procedures.
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Venomous#Helper attackers impersonate the US Social Security Administration to deploy signed RMM software and maintain persistent access across US networks
The Senate Democrat said that the SSA following Trump’s executive order would indicate “willing participation” in the administration’s midterm elections scheme. The post Wyden warns Social Security chief: Trump’s voter database is ‘blatant voter suppression’ appeared first on CyberScoop.
Navia Benefit Solutions Says Potential Data Theft Took Place Over 3-Week PeriodA Washington-state based employee benefits administrator is notifying nearly 2.7 million individuals that their information, including health plan and personal details such as Social Security numbers, was potentially stolen in a hacking incident discovered in January.
Health Researchers Often Overlook Security of Historical DatasetsAn August 2025 ransomware attack on the University of Hawaii Cancer Center's epidemiology division has affected 1.2 million individuals, including personal information such as Social Security numbers of certain research study participants dating back more than 30 years.
PayPal is notifying customers of a data breach after a software error in a loan application exposed their sensitive personal information, including Social Security numbers, for nearly 6 months last year. [...]
Also, CIRO Phishing Breach, Ingram Micro Ransomware and CVE SurgeThis week, DOGE posted sensitive data on an outside server. A phishing attack affected 750,000 Canadians. A hacktivism warning from the U.K. NCSC. An Ingram Micro breach. CVEs surged in 2025. SK Telecom challenged a fine. Researchers disclosed Chainlit flaws. North Korean hackers abused VS Code.
University of Hawaii says a ransomware gang breached its Cancer Center in August 2025, stealing data of study participants, including documents from the 1990s containing Social Security numbers. [...]
Insurer's Hack Could Rank as Largest US Health Data Breach Reported in 2025Supplemental health insurer Aflac is notifying 22.65 million people whose sensitive health and personal information, including Social Security numbers, was potentially compromised in a June data theft incident. The incident will likely rank as the biggest U.S. health data breach reported in 2025.
Insurer's Hack Could Rank as Largest US Health Data Breach Reported in 2025Supplemental health insurer Aflac is notifying 22.65 million people whose sensitive health and personal information, including Social Security numbers, was potentially compromised in a June data theft incident. The incident will likely rank as the biggest U.S. health data breach reported in 2025.
Marquis Software Solutions Says Ransomware Group Hit SonicWall Device, Stole DataMarketing and compliance software maker Marquis Software Solutions, which counts over 700 banks and credit unions as customers, said a ransomware group breached its SonicWall firewall and stole hundreds of thousands of individuals' personal details, including Social Security numbers.
Pajemploi, the French social security service for parents and home-based childcare providers, has suffered a data breach that may have exposed personal information of 1.2 million individuals. [...]
Breach Notification Service Details Peer-to-Peer Lending Marketplace Victim CountHackers appear to have stolen personal information pertaining to more than 17 million individuals from peer-to-peer lending marketplace Prosper, including Social Security numbers, contact information and some income and financial details, says the Have I Been Pwned breach notification service.
Alert says financial account information lifted from systems Auction house Sotheby's says it was breached on July 24, and those behind the intrusion stole an unspecified amount of data, including Social Security numbers and financial account information.…
Also: Netskope's High-Stakes IPO, How AI Sovereignty Threatens Our Shared RealityIn this week's update, four ISMG editors discussed explosive whistleblower claims about alleged mishandling of Americans' sensitive U.S. Social Security data, Netskope's push for an initial public offering and the global fight over the geopolitical sovereignty of artificial intelligence platforms.
Department of Government Efficiency Staffers Created 'Live Replica' of SSA DataThe Social Security Administration's chief data officer is warning in a whistleblower complaint that DOGE created a cloud replica of the Social Security database without proper authorization or oversight, potentially exposing the personal data of 300 million Americans.
Remember that cost-cutting group once led by Elon Musk? Federal employees are still dealing with it A Social Security Administration employee has filed a whistleblower complaint alleging that Donald Trump's DOGE cost-cutting unit has put the records of every single American at risk by duplicating an agency database in an unauthorized cloud environment. …
Marko Elez, a 25-year-old employee at Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has been granted access to sensitive databases at the U.S. Social Security Administration, the Treasury and Justice departments, and the Department of Homeland Security. So it should fill all Americans with a deep sense of confidence to learn that Mr. Elez over the weekend inadvertently published a private key that allowed anyone to interact directly with more than four dozen large language models (LLMs) developed by Musk's artificial intelligence company xAI.
Personal Data Stolen in Ransomware Hit, Says Dutch Owner of Stop & Shop, Giant FoodFood retail giant Ahold Delhaize USA is notifying 2.2 million current and former employees, as well as an unspecified number of employees in the Netherlands, that a November 2024 data breach exposed their personally identifiable information, including Social Security numbers and medical details.
Unsigned Order Overturns District Court InjunctionThe U.S. Supreme Court granted Friday a Trump administration cost-cutting effort known as the "Department of Government Efficiency" access to data on Americans held at the Social Security Administration. Two liberal justices accused their conservative colleagues of a double standard.
Leaked Records Include Names, Decrypted Social Security Numbers and AddressesHackers have seemingly re-released a refined trove of 86 million AT&T records, including decrypted Social Security numbers and full identity data, heightening the risk of fraud and impersonation for tens of millions of users as researchers cite structural improvements in the dataset.