Searches in 2 States in Lexis Probe

Federal agents have carried out searches in at least two states as part of an investigation into the theft of Social Security numbers and other personal information from database giant LexisNexis Inc., authorities said Thursday.

Secret Service and FBI agents executed a search warrant in Minnesota, and FBI agents conducted 10 searches in Northern California.

The search in Minnesota is “definitely the LexisNexis case,” said Mike Brooks, an FBI spokesman in Ohio.

No arrests have been made in connection with the searches, which were carried out in recent days.

Secret Service spokesman Jonathan Cherry declined to comment. Steve Edwards, spokesman for Dayton, Ohio-based LexisNexis, said the company was cooperating with the investigation. He declined to comment further.

LexisNexis disclosed in March that hackers had gained access to the personal files of as many as 32,000 people. The company has since increased its estimate of those affected to 310,000.

The breaches were uncovered during a review and integration of the systems of Seisint Inc. shortly after LexisNexis bought the Boca Raton, Fla.-based unit for $775 million in August.

Seisint’s databases store millions of personal records including individuals’ addresses and Social Security numbers. Customers include police and legal professionals and public and private sector organizations.

Information accessed included names, addresses and Social Security and driver’s license numbers, but not credit history, medical records or financial information, corporate parent Reed Elsevier Group said.