Three-quarters of the House Representatives have personal-data records accessible online

As the presidential campaign enters a new stage, the most prominent players brace for the more brutal side of being in the limelight. High-profile politicians, including members of the US House of Representatives, are particularly vulnerable to physical, financial, and reputational harm resulting from the ready availability of their personal data. Incogni, a data-privacy platform, has found that Members of the House of Representatives may be unwittingly exposed to security risks, as three-quarters of them have personal information publicly available on people search sites.

People search sites (PSS) are specialized data brokers that collect and sell personal data, which can include home addresses, phone numbers, and property records, among other details. Often, people are completely unaware that such data about themselves is accessible and searchable.

Incogni's analysis reveals that 75% of House members' personal data can be found on these sites. This data may include information such as home addresses, phone numbers, relatives, property records, and even neighbors.

The safety of all US politicians is under the spotlight following the recent attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. The House of Representatives' top security official has urged members of Congress to take advantage of all available security resources as they go back to their districts during recess1. Meanwhile, a man from Virginia has been charged with making threats of violence against Vice President Kamala Harris.

According to the study, male Republican House members face the highest risk, with 79.79% of their records being found on these sites compared to 73.98% for male Democrat House members. Female Republican House members have a slightly lower exposure rate of 61.76%, but this remains a significant security concern.

All House members from Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, Oregon, Tennessee, and Utah have their data exposed on PSS with a probability of 75% or greater (see Methodology). The least-exposed data pertains to House members from Connecticut, New York, Indiana, Minnesota, Washington, Arizona, and South Carolina-personal information for less than 60% of them can be found on people search sites.

Full text of the research: https://blog.incogni.com/data-brokers-putting-us-house-members-at-risk/

Incogni Inc., 506 S Spring st, Los Angeles, CA

Incogni helps people take control of their data by removing their personal information from various sources, such as data brokers (including people search sites) and other similar services. Incogni provides a simple, user-friendly solution that prevents users' personal data from being sold and reduces the likelihood of them falling victim to cybercrime and spam.

This release was published on openPR.