Unsecured Database Exposed 33 Million Job Profiles in China – BleepingComputer
What happened: Using the Shodan search engine, security researcher Sanyam Jain uncovered a large database containing the personal information of 33 million Chinese users with profiles on recruitment websites like 51job, lagou and Zhilian. User home addresses, phone numbers and even marriage statuses were all exposed. While the owner of the database is unknown, Jain thinks “a third-party is aggregating the information from these companies and using them in some way.” After reporting his discovery to CNCERT, the China Cyber emergency response team, the database was secured.
Why it’s important: Just since February, researchers have discovered unsecured databases in China that exposed the private data of over 350 million people, with this most recent revelation putting that number closer to 400 million. “We don’t want to be whistle-blowers—we want to fix stuff, not embarrass people,” said Victor Gevers, the GDI Foundation researcher who has disclosed multiple vulnerable Chinese databases. And with over 800 million Chinese citizens online, defending against such massive data breaches should be a top priority for both the government and companies alike.