Unidentified hackers accessed millions of documents after accessing a Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles database. Photo by Amy Ashcraft. Graphic by Allison Beck.
If you have a Florida driver’s license or state ID, you may need to monitor your banking information closely.
In a Friday news release, Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) officials confirmed a “malicious actor” accessed its databases in early September — weeks after the original breach.
Meanwhile, the department is actively selling some of that same information for profit, and is raking in millions doing it.
Florida drivers’ information hacked
The FLHSMV release did not provide an estimate of how many individuals were affected. But the department mentioned current and former holders of a “Florida driver license, Florida identification card, or Florida title” in its statement.
Officials did not share a full list of the specific data accessed, but because document scans used in ID applications were part of the leak, it could include copies of sensitive documents Floridians use to get a driver’s license, such as birth certificates, Social Security numbers, and banking information used to verify residency.
The department has mailed notices to those impacted whose addresses it has on file and is offering one year of Sontiq credit monitoring. Officials also say they have no evidence that anyone has misused personal information accessed in the leak so far.
FLHSMV officials did not respond to New Times’ emailed questions about the incident.
Whodunnit?
Hacker group ShinyHunters appeared to claim credit for the incident via a dark web blog in early September, according to an NBC Miami report.
If that name sounds familiar, it’s because the group recently accessed an FBI personnel database. The group typically holds information for ransom, threatening to leak or sell it if the fee isn’t paid. It’s unclear whether FLHSMV received or paid a ransom demand.
Florida’s hack also followed a nationwide breach of 163 million driver’s licenses and other identity documents through an IDScan.net breach. Reports say the two events do not appear related.
Who else may have my driver’s license data?
Since 2011, Florida has made millions on drivers’ data—by some accounts, nearly half a billion dollars.
While not nearly as extensive as the files hackers accessed in September, a wide range of information, including legal name, birth date, physical descriptors, address, emergency contacts and driver’s license number, is available to private companies for as little as a penny apiece.
According to a 2024 Action News Jacksonville investigation, the information is currently being shared with “dozens” of private companies,” including data brokers and private investigators.**
While the Driver Privacy Protection Act protects some information, companies like LexisNexis can sell records to members for a fee. Users can then use it for targeted advertising, credit card offers, telemarketing, stalking, harassment, doxxing and other practices. There is no opt-out policy.
In November 2025, State Rep. Peggy Gossett-Seidman (R-Highland Beach) introduced the Motor Vehicle Operator Privacy Act to stop the practice, but the bill died in committee this spring.
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