Data Brokers Fuel $21 Billion Identity Theft Losses [Prime Cyber Insights]

[00:00] Lauren Mitchell: From Neural Newscast, this is Prime Cyber Insights, [00:03] Lauren Mitchell: Intelligence for Defenders, Leaders, and Decision Makers. [00:06] Aaron Cole: I'm Aaron Cole, and this is Prime Cyber Insights. [00:09] Aaron Cole: We're tracking a massive financial fallout from the data broker industry [00:13] Aaron Cole: and a critical vulnerability alert for enterprise security. [00:17] Aaron Cole: Joining me is Lauren Mitchell. [00:19] Lauren Mitchell: I'm Lauren Mitchell. [00:20] Lauren Mitchell: We're also welcoming Chad Thompson, a director-level AI and security leader with a systems-level [00:26] Lauren Mitchell: perspective on automation, enterprise risk, and operational resilience. [00:30] Lauren Mitchell: Chad, it's great to have you here. [00:31] Announcer: Lauren, let's start with today's bombshell report from the Joint Economic Committee. [00:36] Announcer: Congressional Democrats are identifying over $20.9 billion in consumer losses tied to identity [00:43] Announcer: theft from just four major data broker breaches, including Equifax and national public data. [00:49] Lauren Mitchell: The details are concerning, Erin. [00:51] Lauren Mitchell: I mean, Senator Maggie Hassan's inquiry found that companies like Comscore and Telesign [00:58] Lauren Mitchell: were using no-index code to hide opt-out pages from search engines. [01:05] Lauren Mitchell: It's a classic dark pattern that makes it nearly impossible for consumers to pull their [01:10] Lauren Mitchell: sensitive data before scammers get to it. [01:13] Aaron Cole: It's a systemic failure. [01:15] Aaron Cole: When these brokers prioritize data accumulation over transparency, they create massive honeypots. [01:22] Aaron Cole: The report shows that 30% of victims in these major breaches end up facing identity theft, [01:27] Aaron Cole: which represents a massive enterprise risk for the financial sector. [01:31] Aaron Cole: Speaking of massive exposures, we've seen a third-party breach hit the French e-commerce [01:36] Aaron Cole: giant Mono Mono. [01:38] Aaron Cole: 38 million customers have had their names, emails, and phone numbers exfiltrated because [01:43] Aaron Cole: of a compromised Zendesk account in Tunis. [01:46] Aaron Cole: Chad, this feels like another supply chain nightmare. [01:49] Aaron Cole: Exactly. [01:50] Aaron Cole: The threat actor Indra didn't even have to breach Mono Mono directly. [01:55] Aaron Cole: By targeting a subcontractor's support console, they gained access to a decade's worth [02:00] Aaron Cole: of communication. [02:01] Aaron Cole: It shows why operational resilience must extend to every third-party vendor in your stack. [02:08] Lauren Mitchell: We're also seeing Trend Micro issue a critical warning for its Apex One platform. [02:13] Lauren Mitchell: Two path traversal flaws, CVE 2025-71210 and 71211, both have a 9.8 severity score. [02:23] Lauren Mitchell: Erin, you know this isn't something IT teams can sit on. [02:27] Lauren Mitchell: It allows for a full system takeover. [02:29] Announcer: It's urgent. [02:30] Announcer: Trend Micro has already released patch build 14136 for on-prem users. [02:36] Announcer: If you have an exposed management console IP, you are in the crosshairs. [02:42] Announcer: On a more optimistic note, NASA just reported a successful fueling test for Artemis II, [02:48] Announcer: clearing a major hurdle after those hydrogen leaks earlier this month. [02:51] Lauren Mitchell: For sure, the SEALs held at 1.6% hydrogen, well below the safety limit. [02:58] Lauren Mitchell: We're now looking at a March 6 launch window to send four astronauts around the Moon. [03:03] Lauren Mitchell: It's a massive win for systems engineering after the delays we saw in early February. [03:08] Aaron Cole: The Artemis success proves that rigorous testing and iterative fixes work, [03:13] Aaron Cole: whether it's rocket SEALs or data broker opt-out tools. [03:17] Aaron Cole: Transparency and precision are what ultimately protect the mission and the agent. [03:25] Chad Thompson: A vital reminder as we wrap up. [03:27] Chad Thompson: I'm Aaron Cole. [03:28] Chad Thompson: Thanks for joining us for this deep dive into the risks and recoveries defining the digital landscape. [03:33] Lauren Mitchell: And I'm Lauren Mitchell. [03:35] Lauren Mitchell: We'll see you next time on Prime Cyber Insights. [03:39] Lauren Mitchell: For the latest updates, visit pci.neuralnewscast.com. [03:44] Lauren Mitchell: Stay secure. [03:46] Lauren Mitchell: Neural Newscast is AI-assisted, human-reviewed. [03:50] Lauren Mitchell: View our AI transparency policy at neuralnewscast.com. [03:55] Lauren Mitchell: This has been Prime Cyber Insights on Neural Newscast. [03:58] Lauren Mitchell: Intelligence for defenders, leaders, and decision makers. [04:02] Lauren Mitchell: Neural Newscast uses artificial intelligence in content creation [04:06] Lauren Mitchell: with human editorial review prior to publication. [04:09] Lauren Mitchell: While we strive for factual, unbiased reporting, AI-assisted content may occasionally contain [04:14] Lauren Mitchell: errors. Verify critical information with trusted sources. Learn more at neuralnewscast.com.