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Huge Database Leak Reveals 1.37 Billion Email Addresses and Exposes Illegal Spam Operation (betanews.com)

Posted by msmash on from the boom dept.

One of the largest spam operations in the world has exposed its entire operation to the public, leaking its database of 1.37bn email addresses thanks to a faulty backup. From a report: A faulty backup has inadvertently exposed the entire working database of notorious spam operator River City Media (RCM). In all, the database contains more than 1.37 billion email addresses, and for some records there are additional details such as names, real-world addresses, and IP addresses. It's a situation that's described as "a tangible threat to online privacy and security." Details about the leak come courtesy of Chris Vickery from macOS security firm MacKeeper who -- with a team of helpers -- has been investigating since January. River City Media's database ended up online thanks to incorrectly-configured Rsync backups. In the words of Vickery: "Chances are you, or at least someone you know, is affected." The leaked, and unprotected, database is what's behind the sending of over a billion spam emails every day -- helped, as Vickery points out, by "a lot of automation, years of research, and fair bit of illegal hacking techniques." But it's more than a database that has leaked -- it's River City Media's entire operation.

3 of 141 comments (clear)

  1. Re:They seem to have "inside" contacts. by Zocalo · · Score: 3, Funny

    Or maybe they just have an intrusion detection system and Vickery or one of his helpers tripped over it while exfiltrating the data. Hopefully they've got enough for law enforcement to identify at least some of those involved and, ultimately, send them for a lengthy stay somewhere where they need to worry about unsolicited male.

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    UNIX? They're not even circumcised! Savages!
  2. Send everyone an email to let them know by jfdavis668 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Download the database, and keep email everyone on the list that they are subject to spam emails. Do this every night to make sure they know. Add a few ads to help pay for the project.

  3. Are you affected? by andrewa · · Score: 4, Funny

    Just provide the following details and we will search the leaked database to determine if your details are compromised.

    First Name:
    Last Name:
    Email:
    Phone:
    SSN:

    [Submit]

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