Yesterday, Michelle Obama, Joe Biden and several other celebrities got an unpleasant surprise--hackers had somehow gotten their hands on their personal information and posted it online.
On Monday, a website posted what hackers claim to be Social Security numbers, credit reports, former addresses and personal banking information of celebrities and other top Washington, D.C., officials.
The hackers claim to have what appears to be first lady's credit report, Social Security number and phone numbers. Other targets include former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, FBI Director Robert Mueller, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.
Information posted about Biden and Clinton did not include credit reports but included addresses and other sensitive information.
There was some talk that the site may have been perpetuating an elaborate hoax. But earlier today, Equifax
confirmed that the bottom-feeders had gotten at least some of the information via AnnualCreditReport.com, the site that allows you to get one free credit report every year. Suffice to say that if you use that site, you need to change your password. Now.
The information obtained is very detailed--car leases, credit scores, credit card bills, etc. Don't count on it being taken down any time soon--it's hosted in Russia, which is a well-known haven for spam and other cybercrime.
What makes this all the more frightening is that the hackers somehow managed to get past AnnualCreditReport.com's defenses. People wanting to access that site must answer a series of questions that someone who steals a wallet off the street can't answer. Which means we're dealing with some EXTREMELY sophisticated criminals here.
The FBI and Secret Service are investigating. Even without the First Lady and Vice President being involved, the scum who did this need to have the library thrown at them.