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LexisNexis Begins Mailing Notifications Today to Individuals Whose Information May Have Been Fraudulently Accessed
LexisNexis will provide free monitoring and support to help prevent and resolve identity theft to those notified
DAYTON, OH, April 18, 2005 - LexisNexis U.S., a leading provider of legal, news and business information said today it has begun mailing notification letters to approximately 280,000 individuals whose personally identifying information may have been accessed by unauthorized individuals using passwords and IDs stolen from legitimate customers of its Seisint unit. The company announced April 12 that it had uncovered unauthorized access to its non-public databases containing Social Security numbers (SSN) and/or Driver’s License numbers (DLN) after completing an extensive review of data search activity going back two years at Seisint, which it acquired in late 2004, and its other businesses.
The notification from LexisNexis, sent to individuals only via U.S. Postal Service, provides important information on a number of free services LexisNexis will provide to monitor and protect those notified from possible fraud associated with identity theft. These free services include credit bureau reports, credit monitoring for one year and fraud insurance. In addition, LexisNexis is offering fraud counseling services or specialized assistance on a case-by-case basis to any individual who has been the victim of identity theft related to these instances.
"We regret that individuals may have been affected by these illegal intrusions and we want to do what we can to help protect them from possible identity theft or resolve any fraud that might have occurred," said Kurt Sanford, CEO, Corporate and Public Markets, LexisNexis. "Individuals should watch their mail carefully over the next couple of weeks to learn if they are among those whose information may have been accessed. If they receive written correspondence from LexisNexis, they should take the immediate actions outlined on the letter to access these free services."
LexisNexis is proactively participating with law enforcement agencies in their investigations of these incidents. To help prevent the potential for future incidents that could expose personally-identifiable information about individuals, LexisNexis and Seisint are implementing multiple enhancements to its security procedures and processes, including changes to customers’ password and ID administration and security processes.
In addition, LexisNexis has further limited access to SSNs by extending its more restrictive policies to the Seisint business. This included truncating SSNs displayed in non-public documents and narrowing access to full SSNs and DLNs to law enforcement and a restricted group of legally authorized organizations, such as banks and insurance companies.
The company first suspected unauthorized persons had acquired passwords and IDs of legitimate customers when it was conducting integration activities for its new Seisint business in February. The initial review confirmed that in three incidents, unauthorized individuals may have accessed the SSNs and/or DLN of approximately 32,000 individuals. LexisNexis mailed notifications to those individuals in March, and announced it had launched a more extensive review of data search activities going back two years, including prior to its purchase of Seisint.
During this extensive review, it uncovered 56 additional incidents during the two year period, the substantial majority of which involved IDs and passwords stolen from Seisint customers that had legally permissible access to SSNs and DLNs for legitimate purposes, such as verifying identities and preventing and detecting fraud. LexisNexis confirmed in the review that neither the LexisNexis nor Seisint technology infrastructure were hacked into or penetrated, nor was any customer data residing within that infrastructure accessed or compromised. Neither LexisNexis nor Seisint collect personal credit histories, medical records or individual financial records.
About LexisNexis
LexisNexis® U.S. (www.lexisnexis.com) is a leader in comprehensive and authoritative legal, news and business information and tailored applications. A member of Reed Elsevier Group plc [NYSE: ENL; NYSE: RUK] (www.reedelsevier.com), the company does business in 100 countries with 13,000 employees worldwide. In addition to its flagship Web-based Lexis® and Nexis® research services, the company includes some of the world’s most respected legal publishers such as Martindale-Hubbell, Matthew Bender, Butterworths, JurisClasseur, Abeledo-Perrot and Orac.
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