Additional Coverage:
- Pete Hegseth’s driver’s license among 170 million identity documents for sale on the dark web (irishstar.com)
A scanned copy of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s driver’s license has reportedly been found for sale on the dark web, according to recent cybersecurity investigations.
On Tuesday, security expert Brian Krebs revealed that more than 170 million identity documents are currently available for purchase through a new illicit service called Nexus. This underground operation was uncovered after being advertised on a Russian cybercrime forum just a day earlier.
Nexus claims to offer over 153 million scans of driver’s licenses from the U.S. and Canada, including one belonging to Hegseth himself. The stolen ID was reportedly listed for sale at $100. Beyond driver’s licenses, the service also offers around 10 million ID cards, 3 million travel documents and international IDs, as well as nearly 579,000 medical IDs.
Additional forms of identification, such as marijuana dispensary cards, commercial driver’s licenses, and Common Access Cards (CAC) used by government employees for secure facility entry, are also said to be part of the Nexus database.
In a post on the Russian cybercrime forum, the Nexus operators claimed, “We have been continuously exfiltrating new data for over a year into our private database.” They added that potential buyers can preview redacted records before purchase, with available customer photos displayed.
The exact method by which these IDs were compromised remains unclear. Krebs speculated that hackers may have breached New Orleans-based identity verification company IDScan.net to obtain the data, including the high-profile government official’s information.
As of now, Hegseth has not publicly addressed the reports concerning his personal identification. A Department of Defense spokesperson told TechCrunch that the department is “aware of these reports and is evaluating them.”
Hegseth, a Minneapolis native and former military service member, previously worked as a Fox News contributor before joining the Trump administration. Since his appointment, he has faced intense scrutiny over his handling of military matters, including the conflict with Iran and the turnover of senior military personnel under his leadership.