Data of Most Americans Potentially Exposed Posted by Association of Vermont Credit Unions on 3:10 PM

As reported by MSN today, a little-known Florida company may have exposed the personal data of nearly every American adult.  On Wednesday the publication Wired reported that Exactis, a Florida marketing and data-aggregation company, had exposed 2 terabytes of data, containing nearly 340 million individual records, on a public server. That included records of 230 million consumers and 110 million businesses.

The data does not appear to include credit-card or social security numbers, but does include:

• phone numbers
• email and postal addresses
• over 400 personal characteristics, such as whether a person is a smoker, if they own a dog or cat, their religion and a multitude of personal interests. 

Even though no financial information was included, the breadth of personal data could make it possible to profile individuals or help scammers steal identities.

On its website, Exactis said it maintained 3.5 billion consumer, business and digital records, including “demographic, geographic, firmographic, lifestyle, interests, CPG, automotive, and behavioral data.” The company said it has data on 218 million individuals and 110 million U.S. households.

There are about 325 million residents in the U.S., with about 244 million adults and 126 million households, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Exactis did not immediately respond when asked to confirm the breach.  If confirmed, the data leak would be one of the largest in history, and far bigger than the Equifax data breach last year that exposed the personal information of about 148 million consumers.