New ‘Meow’ attack has wiped dozens of unsecured databases

[CyberTech]

Content source

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/new-meow-attack-has-wiped-dozens-of-unsecured-databases/

Dozens of unsecured databases exposed on the public web are the target of an automated 'meow' attack that destroys data without any explanation.

The activity started recently and hits Elasticsearch and MongoDB instances indiscriminately without leaving any explanation, or even a ransom note.

A quick search by BleepingComputer on the IoT search engine Shodan has found dozens of databases that have been affected by this attack.

These attacks have pushed researchers into a race to find the exposed databases and report them responsibly before they become 'meowed.'

Cat's out of the bag
The most recent publicly known example of a Meow attack is an Elasticsearch database belonging to a VPN provider that claimed not to keep any logs.

Discovered by researcher Bob Diachenko, the database was initially secured in July only to become exposed again five days later.

The second time, though, the owner no longer received a well-intended notification. Instead, they got ‘meowed,’ with almost all records getting wiped.

 

[Ink]

To be fair, these should not have been public in the first place.

Wiped before the Government Agencies got a chance to snoop. /s

 

[Local Host]

To be fair, these should not have been public in the first place.

Wiped before the Government Agencies got a chance to snoop. /s

Some of them shouldn't even have that data (like the VPN), so they deserved to get meowed.

 

[upnorth]

It’s not the first time attackers have targeted unsecured databases, which have become increasingly common with the growing use of cloud computing services from Amazon, Microsoft, and other providers. In some cases, the motivation is to make money through ransomware rackets. In other cases—including the current Meow attacks—the data is simply wiped out with no ransomware note or any other explanation. The only thing left behind in the current attacks in the word “meow.”

Spoiler: meow :P

Ongoing Meow attack has nuked >1,000 databases without telling anyone why

Ongoing attack hitting unsecured data leaves the word “meow” as its calling card.

arstechnica.com

 

[Ink]

Some of them shouldn't even have that data (like the VPN), so they deserved to get meowed.

No doubt, you can thank all these "Security" consultants.