Cyprus helps bust illicit sale of private data on Americans

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus police say they have seized servers that were used to sell social security numbers and other personal information stolen from 24 million U.S. citizens. A cybercrime official said Thursday that four websites were taken down in a joint operation with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service. A U.S. Department of Justice statement said the websites operated for years and generated more than $19 million in sales revenue. The personal information that was hacked included the names, dates of birth and social security numbers of U.S. citizens. The justice department also credited Latvia with helping it stop the international operation.