What happened in the Instant Checkmate data breach? | Twingate (2024)

FAQs

What happened in the Instant Checkmate data breach? | Twingate? ›

Instant Checkmate, an online background check service, confirmed a data breach that exposed the personal information of its users. The breach was disclosed after it was discovered that data from Instant Checkmate, along with TruthFinder (a service operated by the same parent company), was leaked on a hacking forum.

The data, shared via two 2.9 GB CVS files allegedly contained information on 11.9 million InstantCheckmate customers, 8.2 million TruthFinder users and 4,625 TruthFinderInternational customers, including: Names and email addresses. Telephone numbers. Encrypted passwords and password reset tokens.

A data breach is an incident where information is stolen or taken from a system without the knowledge or authorization of the system's owner. A small company or large organization may suffer a data breach.

The vast majority of data breaches are caused by stolen or weak credentials. If malicious criminals have your username and password combination, they have an open door into your network.

Our first recommended action after a breach is for the exposed users to immediately change their password for that account – and for any other accounts that are protected by the same (or a similar) password.

Instant Checkmate is a background check program that provides publicly available information on a person. This includes email, phone numbers, social media pages, criminal history, and so much more.

Your TruthFinder search history is always private, so the person in question will never know that you searched for their report.

A data breach is an event that results in confidential, private, protected, or sensitive information being exposed to a person not authorized to access it. It can be the consequence of an accidental event or intentional action to steal information from an individual or organization.

Data exposed during a breach creates a serious fraud risk. Sensitive information that could wind up in the hands of criminals or on the dark web after a data breach includes: Your full names. Email addresses.

Although hacking attacks are frequently cited as the leading cause of data breaches, it's often the vulnerability of compromised or weak passwords or personal data that opportunistic hackers exploit. Statistics show that four out of five breaches are partially attributed to the use of weak or stolen passwords.

How to remove info from data breach? ›

The website https://haveibeenpwned.com can tell you if your password or email has been exposed in a data breach. This website is safe and is used by many IT professionals. It uses a database of previously leaked emails and passwords to give you a count of how many times your data has been exposed.

Use a free Dark Web scanner.

Services like Aura's Dark Web scanner or HaveIBeenPwned check to see if your email address or passwords have been compromised in any data breaches.

If I change my password, will hackers still be able to get into my account? Hackers can get into accounts they want to, but changing passwords frequently will slow them down.

One of the best ways to check if you have been hacked is to enter your email into a number of data breach websites that track breaches and verify them as genuine. The websites will tell you if your email and associated passwords were part of any known data breaches.

Yes, it is legal to use Instant Checkmate, but it is illegal to use the service to look up any information governed by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), including screening someone for employment, a lease or credit eligibility. Make sure you follow the search guidelines when using Instant Checkmate.

Instant Checkmate collects and posts all kinds of personal information publicly online. Removing yourself from Instant Checkmate requires you to fill out an opt-out form. After that, your request should be processed within 48 hours.

How much does Instant Checkmate cost? Instant Checkmate's pricing ranges from $5.99 to $35.12 per month, depending on the type of background checks you need to do.