A dark-web service marketed 153 million driver's license scans with the security images used to detect fake IDs

A dark-web platform known as Nexus, which advertised a vast collection of over 153 million US and Canadian driver's license scans, has vanished following its discovery by Krebs on Security. The site purportedly offered images with standard scans, as well as infrared and ultraviolet versions, typically employed in document verification systems.

This incident highlights the possibility of a widespread compromise of systems used to authenticate physical IDs, raising concerns about the potential large-scale theft of sensitive document images. Nexus provided records for driver's licenses, ID cards, travel documents, medical cards, and other credentials. The FBI's New Orleans field office has initiated an investigation into a breach involving Louisiana identity-verification company IDScan.net.

Nexus claimed to have obtained data from a major identity verification company over the past year, amassing more than 153 million driver's licenses, over 10 million ID cards, more than 3 million travel and international ID documents, and at least 579,000 medical cards. The records, which included more than the usual front-and-back images, consisted of multiple files tied to a single license, including visible-light images and versions in infrared and ultraviolet formats.

Cybersecurity researchers found their own licenses in the service, with timestamps matching rental periods at car rental companies. Privacy researchers uncovered records linked to trips to Las Vegas and other locations where licenses were scanned. While the source of the data remains unproven, the incident underscores the potential risks posed by the unauthorized access and sale of driver's license information.