Public Business Data Breach
Status: Confirmed
Breach Intelligence Summary
Entity: Public Business · Actor: Unknown · Source: Have I Been Pwned / ObscureIQ intelligence
Attack: Data Exfiltration via Under investigation
Timeline: Breach (Aug, 2021) · Reported (Oct, 2023) · Leak (10/9/23)
Exposure: 27.9M+ records · Dates of birth, Email, Job titles, Names, Phone numbers, Physical addresses
Status: Confirmed · Risk: Moderate (Phishing / SIM swap)
Summary
In approximately August 2021, hundreds of gigabytes of business data collated from public sources was obtained and later published to a popular hacking forum. Sourced from a customer of Bureau van Dijk’s (BvD) “Orbis” product the corpus of data released contained hundreds of millions of lines about corporations and individuals including personal information such as names and dates of birth. The data also included 28M unique email addresses along with physical addresses (presumedly corporate locations) phone numbers and job titles. There was no unauthorised access to BvD’s systems nor did the incident expose any of their or parent company’s Moody’s clients.
About Public Business
Public Business is the organization affected by this breach. User data may have been generated through account creation, service usage, or business operations.
If you have interacted with Public Business in any capacity, your data may be included in this breach.
Threat Actor: Unknown
The threat actor responsible for this breach has not been publicly identified or confirmed at this time.
- Under investigation
Breach Exploitation Status
Moderate
Status
Detected
Possible
Possible
Unknown
Unknown
5+ years (high persistence)
Dates of birth are permanent and addresses change slowly. Combined with other fields, this data sustains long-tail targeting risk.
Data Points Exposed
Dark Web Verification
Status: Confirmed
- Dataset containing approximately 27.9M+ records has been identified in breach intelligence sources.
- The data is indexed and searchable across breach notification platforms.
Impact
This breach carries moderate risk due to the nature of exposed data fields and the scale of affected records.
- Targeted phishing referencing Public Business accounts or services
- SIM-swap attempts where phone numbers are present
- Physical mail scams and address-based identity verification fraud
- Age/DOB used to bypass identity verification questions
- Data broker enrichment and resale
Recommendations for Impacted Individuals
If you believe your information may be included:
Non-clients may request a breach impact review.
Public Business account updates
Password reset requests
Verify directly through official channels.
Email compromise is often the first pivot point.
Frequently Asked Questions
In Aug, 2021, Public Business experienced a data breach that resulted in the exposure of approximately 27.9M+ records containing personal information.
The exposed data includes Dates of birth, Email, Job titles, Names, Phone numbers, Physical addresses.
Approximately 27.9M+ records were affected based on current breach intelligence.
Yes. This breach is treated as confirmed based on data observed in breach intelligence platforms.
Data circulation has been detected across breach-sharing channels. Downstream exploitation risk exists based on the nature of the exposed fields.
Rotate passwords associated with Public Business, enable multi-factor authentication on email and financial accounts, and monitor for suspicious activity.
Protect Yourself
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High-Risk? Get an Exposure Audit
Executives, public figures, and high-net-worth individuals face elevated risk. Our team provides full-spectrum exposure audits and threat monitoring.
Corporate Accountability
Organizations that collect personal data have a duty to implement reasonable safeguards and to notify affected individuals when breaches occur.
Scope assessments may evolve as investigations continue. Users should not rely solely on early estimates when making risk decisions.
ObscureIQ Advisory
We combine proprietary dark web access with commercial and restricted breach intelligence to verify exposure and assess real-world risk.
- A public-facing individual
- A high-profile executive
- A customer of Public Business
- Or simply concerned about credential reuse
We can confirm whether your information is circulating and evaluate downstream threat vectors.