A new WORLD RECORD data leak

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In a staggering cybersecurity lapse, over 4 billion personal records have been exposed in what is likely China’s largest data breach to date. Discovered by cybersecurity researcher Bob Dyachenko and the Cybernews team, the 631GB database was left unsecured online, allowing unrestricted public access.

The leaked data encompasses sensitive information from platforms like WeChat and Alipay, including

• names,
• ID numbers,
• Phone numbers,
• Residential addresses and financial details.

The database contained multiple collections, with the largest “wechatid_db” housing over 805 million records.

Experts suggest that the dataset was likely compiled for surveillance or profiling purposes, potentially by state actors or cybercriminals. The exposed information poses significant risks, including identity theft, financial fraud, and targeted phishing attacks.

This incident underscores the critical need for robust data security measures and heightened awareness of personal information protection.

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One more thing, at Pfortner, we take communications privacy very seriously. We encrypt email, messaging and network communications to provide our clientele with uncompromised privacy.

If you need to protect sensitive communications, please see www.pfortner.co.za or send an email to info@pfortner.co.za, and we will get back to you.