A security researcher says he has discovered a massive, unprotected database online containing 644,869 files with extremely sensitive data on American citizens.
Jeremiah Fowler says he recently found the non-password protected database on the cloud, containing records belonging to SL Data Services/Propertyrec.
The firm provides property, vehicle and criminal records, as well as background checks.
Fowler says the records in question contain full names, home addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, employment details, family members, social media accounts, criminal record histories, death and birth certificates, court records, vehicle records, property ownership reports and background checks.
The database was located in an 713 gigabyte unencrypted Amazon S3 bucket.
Fowler says he can’t determine how long the database was exposed or if anyone else has gained access to it.
“Only an internal forensic audit could identify additional access or potentially suspicious activity. I did not receive a response from SL Data Services/Propertyrec after my disclosure notice or at any time before publication.
It is not known if the database was owned and managed by SL Data Services/Propertyrec or a third-party contractor.”
The incident follows a separate breach from a background check service company. Back in August, National Public Data (NPD) confirmed it was breached in a hack that reportedly exposed personal information of 270 million people.
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