Impact & Downstream Threats
This breach carries high risk due to the nature of exposed data fields and the scale of affected records.
- SIM swap attacks where phone numbers are present
- Targeted phishing campaigns using exposed email addresses
- Doxxing risk from physical address exposure
- Employment-based social engineering using job and employer data
Breach Intelligence
Executive Summary
In March 2017, a file containing 8M rows of data allegedly sourced from data aggregator Factual was compiled and later exchanged on the premise it was a "breach". The data contained 2.5M unique email addresses alongside business names, addresses and phone numbers. After consultation with Factual, they advised the data was "publicly available information about businesses and other points of interest that Factual makes available on its website and to customers".
About Factual
Factual is an organization whose data was exposed in this breach. The dataset has been verified by ObscureIQ intelligence and indexed across breach notification platforms.
Data Points Exposed
Dark Web Verification
Status: Confirmed
- Dataset containing approximately 2.5M records identified in breach intelligence sources.
- The data is indexed and searchable across breach notification platforms.
Recommended Actions
⚠️ Do not assume this is low sensitivity.
Non-clients may request a breach impact review.
Frequently Asked Questions
In March 2017, Factual experienced a data breach that exposed approximately 2.5M records containing personal information.
The exposed data includes fields such as email address, employer, phone number, physical address.
Approximately 2.5M records were affected based on current breach intelligence.
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ObscureIQ Advisory
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- A public-facing individual
- A high-profile executive
- A customer of Factual
- Or concerned about credential reuse
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