Security News Marketing Firm Exactis Leaked Database with 340 Million Records

[upnorth]

Content source

https://www.wired.com/story/exactis-database-leak-340-million-records/

You've probably never heard of the marketing and data aggregation firm Exactis. But it may well have heard of you. And now there's also a good chance that whatever information the company has about you, it recently leaked onto the public internet, available to any hacker who simply knew where to look. Earlier this month, security researcher Vinny Troia discovered that Exactis, a data broker based in Palm Coast, Florida, had exposed a database that contained close to 340 million individual records on a publicly accessible server. The haul comprises close to 2 terabytes of data that appears to include personal information on hundreds of millions of American adults, as well as millions of businesses. While the precise number of individuals included in the data isn't clear—and the leak doesn't seem to contain credit card information or Social Security numbers—it does go into minute detail for each individual listed, including phone numbers, home addresses, email addresses, and other highly personal characteristics for every name. The categories range from interests and habits to the number, age, and gender of the person's children. "It seems like this is a database with pretty much every US citizen in it,".

Aside from the sheer breadth of the Exactis leak, it may be even more remarkable for its depth: Each record contains entries that go far beyond contact information and public records to include more than 400 variables on a vast range of specific characteristics: whether the person smokes, their religion, whether they have dogs or cats, and interests as varied as scuba diving and plus-size apparel.

 

[jogs]

The fact is that every single person's data is now available to hackers and people who are looking that kind of data. We need to provide all kind of personal info to a lot of agencies like banks, govt. departments, schools, colleges, financial companies, hospitals, our work places, telephone companies and where not. And no body knows how many persons have access to all this data. Even the people who collect these data are not safe themselves.

 

[ForgottenSeer 58943]

This sort of answers the question some people ask those that are seemingly paranoid about their privacy about why they are sort of paranoid about their privacy. This is why.

I ran into a small 12 person data mining firm a few months ago. It was buried in a small office park I had to go to. Yet another small, unnamed, seemingly anonymous data mining and aggregate firm harvesting millions of bits of data on people and selling them. Exactis isn't even on my blacklists for application control. So they can really just keep making these junk companies and bypassing things.

Sad. We need regulations in place against this nonsense.

 

[upnorth]

Your 100% correct @ForgottenSeer 58943 . Regulations is the only way and that goes even outside US as it's just silly IMO belive anything else and politicians shouldn't wait as this happens over and over ( Equifax etc ) but instead walk down hard and brutal but can guess that's not easy when many are paid in some way or another by, Databrokers.

The Hacked Data Broker? Be Very Afraid

 

[Itachi Sempai]

The fact is that every single person's data is now available to hackers and people who are looking that kind of data.

+1

yea... just my point

 

[ForgottenSeer 58943]

Those of us using fake names. Sockpuppet accounts. Anonymizing tools. Self destructing operating systems. Virtualization. Privacy wiping applications and other things are going to be vindicated. Probably sooner rather than later.

I can honestly say, my real name isn't anywhere on the internet. Not even social media. It's scrubbed. Completely. The good news is, virtually anything that attempts to dish targeted advertising on me comes up with totally random junk. Like they suggested I was looking for a job and that I could find a job at a Waffle House in Indiana..

 

[Weebarra]

Like they suggested I was looking for a job and that I could find a job at a Waffle House in Indiana..

Don't keep us in suspense then ........... did you apply for the job and more importantly, were you a successful candidate ? I fear you were not qualified for a job at the waffle house