Personal Data From Entire 16.6M Population Of Ecuador Leaked Online

Some 20.8 million records, within 18GB of data, were exposed on an unsecured server located in Miami, Florida, which appears to be owned by an Ecuadorian company according to the researchers

Forbes - Davey Winder 16/09/2019

Photo: Forbes

Two security researchers working for vpnMentor, Noam Rotem and Ran Locar, have an impressive record of uncovering massive data leaks. Now the dynamic duo has, with the help of ZDNet reporter Catalin Cimpanu, exposed one of the most mind-boggling security blunders to date: the leaking of personal information about what is thought to be most all of the population of Ecuador.

How has the population of Ecuador been put at risk?

Some 20.8 million records, within 18GB of data, were exposed on an unsecured server located in Miami, Florida, which appears to be owned by an Ecuadorian company according to the researchers. The entire population of Ecuador is 16.6 million; the difference can be accounted for by way of duplicated records and others which are not related to citizens of the South American country.

"The majority of the affected individuals seem to be located in Ecuador," the vpnMentor report states, "although the exact details remain unclear, the leaked database appears to contain information obtained from outside sources. These sources may include Ecuadorian government registries, an automotive association called Aeade, and Biess, an Ecuadorian national bank."