CBP's trove of U.S. travelers' photos and license plates were leaked in a data breach

A Customs and Border Patrol subcontractor holding travelers' personal information has suffered a data breach, CBP revealed Monday.

The leaked information included "license plate images and traveler images collected by CBP," which had been stored with the unnamed subcontractor, CBP said in a Monday press release. That subcontractor had "transferred copies" of those files to its own network, which was "subsequently compromised by a malicious cyber-attack," CBP wrote.

CBP was sure to point out that the subcontractor acted "in violation of CBP policies and without CBP's authorization or knowledge" and that none of CBP's own systems were "compromised," the press release said. None of that leaked information has appeared on the internet or dark net, it also said. Still, British technology news site The Register did report last month that CBP data stolen from the firm Perceptics was being offered for free on the dark web. The Monday statement doesn't name the subcontractor, but the press release file CBP sent to The Washington Post contained the word "Perceptics" in its title.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up

The breach comes as CBP continues to implement its "biometric entry-exit system," which involves using facial recognition technology to identify all people traveling in and out of the U.S., BuzzFeed News notes. The leaked database contained passport and visa photos used in making that recognition system work.