A Sept. 4 data breach at the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles exposed driver license records and vehicle data, the agency confirmed.

FLHSMV said a criminal actor used compromised credentials to access department systems that day. The agency attributed the breach to an "international cybercriminal organization." It said it shut down the unauthorized access, reset credentials and launched an investigation with the Florida Digital Service and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

The breach traces to a single set of login credentials belonging to a Plant City Police Department employee, according to Florida Politics. The agency's investigation determined the credentials were "improperly housed on the employee's personal electronic device," the department stated.

FLHSMV has not said how many records were accessed. The agency's data breach page lists four categories of information potentially affected: driver license data, motor vehicle information, document images and other personal information. The department has not confirmed which specific data fields were exposed.

The agency said it has no evidence that any information has been misused.

FLHSMV announced Oct. 16 that it would mail notification letters to current Florida driver license and identification card holders whose records may have been affected. Those letters include enrollment instructions for one year of free credit monitoring through Sontiq, Inc., a TransUnion company, plus $1 million in identity theft insurance.

Anyone who previously held a Florida driver license, identification card or vehicle title but no longer does may not receive a letter. FLHSMV said those individuals should contact the department at [email protected] or visit its data breach page to check whether their records were involved.

The disclosure came more than six weeks after the Sept. 4 intrusion. WUSF reported that the department did not state how many individual records were accessed. A hacking group known as ShinyHunters has claimed it obtained more than 200,000 Florida driver records, but FLHSMV has not confirmed that figure or named the group responsible. Those figures originate from the hackers' own claims and outside reporting, not from the agency, according to Tech Insider.

FLHSMV recommends that all Florida license holders monitor financial accounts for suspicious activity, review credit reports and consider placing a fraud alert or credit freeze with the three major bureaus: Equifax (1-800-525-6285), Experian (1-888-397-3742) and TransUnion (1-800-680-7289). Free credit reports are available at the website AnnualCreditReport.com or by calling 1-877-322-8228.

The criminal investigation remains open.