In November 2018, reports said a weakness in a U.S. Postal Service API could have exposed information associated with as many as 60 million customers. That figure described potential exposure—not 60 million confirmed victims or records proven to have been accessed. The reporting did not establish whether anyone maliciously exploited the flaw, and passwords did not appear to be exposed.
What the USPS API flaw was
The reported weakness affected an API connected to USPS Informed Visibility, a service for tracking and reporting on mail. SecurityWeek reported on November 26, 2018, that a researcher had told USPS about the issue more than a year earlier. The problem was described as inadequate authorization: a person logged into the service could access information or functionality that should have been restricted to other users.
Axios, reporting on November 21 based on Brian Krebs’s account, said a logged-in user could apparently view—and in some cases change—other users’ information. Both accounts described a service-specific access-control problem, not a flaw shown to affect every USPS customer account or postal transaction.
What information was reportedly at risk
SecurityWeek listed email addresses, usernames, user IDs, street addresses, phone numbers, and mailing-campaign data among the information that could be exposed. Axios additionally reported that account numbers and authorized users were apparently accessible, and that some information could be changed.
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The often-quoted figure of 60 million came from SecurityWeek’s description of customers potentially exposed. The cited reporting does not provide an authoritative count of records actually accessed, nor does it show that information belonging to every person in that figure was viewed or taken.
Was my USPS account hacked?
The cited accounts do not establish that an individual customer’s information was accessed by an attacker. Axios said it was unknown whether anyone had maliciously exploited the weakness. That means the reports support a real access risk, but not a conclusion that your account—or all accounts in the potential-exposure estimate—was compromised.
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Axios also said passwords did not appear to have been exposed. That is a report about the information believed accessible through this flaw, not proof that every possible security consequence was ruled out.
How USPS responded, according to 2018 reporting
Axios reported that the researcher had difficulty reaching USPS and that Brian Krebs contacted the Postal Service on the researcher’s behalf. SecurityWeek and Axios reported that the issue was patched after Krebs’s contact in November 2018. The cited coverage does not provide technical details of the repair, so it cannot establish exactly what changed or how the fix was validated.
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How the separate OIG assessment fits in
The USPS Office of Inspector General published an Informed Visibility Vulnerability Assessment dated October 12, 2018. Its stated objective was to assess externally facing and supporting servers and databases against USPS security controls and industry practices, including confidentiality, integrity, and availability risks. The report page lists actions related to server configuration baselines and communication protocols.
This was a related system-security assessment, not public confirmation of the specific API flaw described in November news reports. The OIG cautions that its security information reflects a particular point in time and may have changed; the assessment should not be treated as a forensic account of the API incident.
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What USPS says about IV-MTR today
USPS PostalPro currently describes Informed Visibility Mail Tracking & Reporting (IV-MTR) as a near-real-time tracking and reporting service for commercial mailers tracking domestic-bound barcoded mail. Its materials describe role and permission management and data delegation. The displayed 2026 release schedule includes API and user-interface authentication work, security maintenance, and Mailer ID association validation.
Those current service descriptions and updates indicate ongoing work on IV-MTR, but they do not establish the technical details of the 2018 repair or provide a retrospective account of that incident.
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- Re Inking Unlimitedly: the information blocker stamp can cover information of the length about 100 meters. And each security stamper roller has an oil hole, so you don't have to worry about you having to throw away the roller stamps when the ink runs out. They can be refilled with oil for repeated use, saving time and energy
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- Easy to Use: just remove the lid on the ID stamp blocker roller and open it, and then gently slide it on the place where the information needs to be covered. It is suitable for most ordinary paper with black words, and can protect your personal privacy in time
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USPS vulnerability reporting policy
USPS’s current vulnerability disclosure policy asks researchers to use minimal testing, avoid data exfiltration, and follow limits on public disclosure. It says HackerOne will acknowledge a submitted report within two business days. These are present-day program terms and should not be read as a description of the historical researcher’s experience.
The policy puts its testing rule plainly: “You do no harm and do not exploit any vulnerability beyond the minimal amount of testing required to prove that a vulnerability exists or to identify an indicator of a vulnerability.”
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