A class action lawsuit has sparked a viral but unsubstantiated claim that the Social Security numbers of all U.S. citizens were leaked as part of a data breach this year.
But preliminary expert analysis of the leak suggests it may include partial and incorrect data, alongside some legitimate information, leaving the scale of the leak and the authenticity of the claim unclear.
Security analysts who spoke with NBC News also said that while it is still concerning, the leak of Social Security numbers isn’t a reason for panic — many people’s numbers have already been leaked in previous hacks.