Florida Confirms Driver Database Breach via a Police Officer's Account

The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) has confirmed a breach of the DAVID driver's license database. The admission followed a claim by the extortion group ShinyHunters, which said it had stolen more than 200,000 driver records from the system.

According to the agency, it learned of the incident on September 4, 2026, describing it as the work of an “international cybercriminal organization.” FLHSMV stresses that it was able to contain the leak promptly and that the attackers gained no further access.

A careless password to blame

The investigation found that the attackers used the compromised credentials of a single officer with the Plant City police department. Those credentials, as it turned out, had been stored improperly — on the employee's personal electronic device. The agency notified the state's Attorney General of the incident and is coordinating its response with the Florida Digital Service and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

The hackers describe the access differently

Curiously, FLHSMV's account differs from how the attackers themselves explained the intrusion. ShinyHunters claimed they had exploited a vulnerability in the password reset mechanism and gained access to several DAVID accounts at once — including ones belonging to DMV employees and an FBI agent.

According to the hackers, starting on September 3 they cycled through record identifiers and downloaded the associated HTML pages and images. As proof of the breach, the group showed a screenshot of Jeffrey Epstein's record, complete with personal data and vehicle details. ShinyHunters later told BleepingComputer that they had lost access to the system and surmised that the vulnerability was being patched.

FLHSMV is not disclosing exactly how many records were viewed or stolen, nor is it confirming the 200,000 figure cited by the attackers. Since the investigation is ongoing, additional details are promised at a later date.

Source: Bleeping Computer