All news with #sensitive data exposure tag

🔓 UpGuard's Data Breach Research team discovered and secured a publicly accessible rsync storage server containing data belonging to the Oklahoma Department of Securities. The exposure included approximately 3 TB and millions of files spanning 1986–2016, including email archives, virtual machine images, system credentials, and personal records. UpGuard identified the host via Shodan, notified state officials, and public access was removed the same day.

🏥 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.

⚠️ 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.