All news in category “Incidents and Data Breaches”

⚠️ The UpGuard Cyber Risk Team discovered a publicly accessible rsync repository belonging to Texas-based Power Quality Engineering (PQE) that exposed sensitive electrical infrastructure data for clients including Dell, Oracle, and Texas Instruments. Up to 205 GB of reports, schematics, infrared imagery and a plaintext file of internal passwords were downloadable. The exposure, discovered on July 6, 2017 and remediated after notification, illustrates vendor risk and misconfigured services. Recommended mitigations included restricting rsync access, enforcing authentication and network ACLs, and implementing continuous vendor monitoring.

🔒 UpGuard discovered and secured a 1.7 TB publicly accessible storage repository that contained detailed documentation of telecommunications infrastructure across Russia, including schematics, administrative credentials, email archives and photographs. The dataset, hosted on an rsync server, appears to relate primarily to projects by Nokia and carrier MTS. Files included installation instructions and images for SORM interception hardware, raising significant operational and national-security risks. UpGuard notified Nokia and access was closed within days.

🔓 This UpGuard report describes a publicly accessible Amazon S3 data warehouse owned by Deep Root Analytics that contained 1.1 TB of unsecured files and linked datasets from Data Trust and TargetPoint. The exposed records included personally identifiable information for up to 198 million US voters alongside modeled political attributes and scoring. UpGuard discovered the bucket on June 12, 2017; Deep Root secured it after notification, and the report details discovery, contents, and implications for election data privacy.

🔓 UpGuard Research discovered an unsecured Amazon S3 bucket containing a broad compilation of consumer data attributed to Tetrad, including blended sources such as Experian Mosaic and Claritas/Nielsen's PRIZM. Three large Mosaic files alone contained names, genders, addresses, and segment codes covering roughly 120–130 million households. The bucket also held retailer clientfiles with loyalty and transaction records from brands like Chipotle, Kate Spade, and Bevmo. After notification, Tetrad removed public access once the misconfiguration was identified.

🏥 UpGuard discovered an open Amazon S3 bucket operated by Medico Inc. that exposed nearly 14,000 files (~1.7 GB), including medical records, explanations of benefits, legal documents, and financial PII such as SSNs and bank account details. The bucket was identified on June 20, 2019 and secured within hours after notification. Exposed items also included internal spreadsheets containing account credentials and passwords, plus scanned checks and unredacted treatment notes. The incident highlights common cloud misconfigurations and the need for stronger vendor controls and data-handling processes.

🔍 This report details UpGuard's review of publicly downloadable development repositories from data analytics firm AggregateIQ, which contained source code, WordPress backups, database exports, and credentials tied to multiple UK political sites. The exposed repositories appear to link AIQ to web assets for several pro-Brexit groups and campaigns. Sensitive items found include API tokens, payment keys, and admin accounts that, if abused, could grant access to live systems and supporter data. The report highlights misconfiguration and credential management failures with potential regulatory consequences under GDPR.

⚠️ UpGuard discovered a public rsync repository exposing data from Power Quality Engineering (PQE), including client inspection reports, infrared imagery and plaintext internal passwords. The July 2017 exposure allowed downloads of hundreds of gigabytes via port 873 and revealed schematics for clients such as Dell, Oracle, Texas Instruments, and the City of Austin, including a SCIF layout. PQE secured the server after notification; the incident highlights the large risk of simple misconfigurations and third‑party vendor failures.