A database that was misconfigured in the United States resulted in the exposure of personal data of approximately 191 million voters. This data includes names, addresses, the unique identifiers of users, dates of birth, and phone numbers.
The database was discovered on December 20 by Chris Vickery, a white hat hackerwho was able to gain access to millions of voters' personal information that was just waiting in plain sight for someone to discover. The hacker was surprised to see his own information inside!
Vickery has in his hands the 300GB of data that contain a large list of voter details, including:
Full name
Residential address
Email address
Unique voter ID
Sex
Date of birth
Registration date
Phone number
Political beliefs
Detailed voting history from 2000
Vickery not only found his own name but also the names of many city police officers, which he confirmed were correct. Fortunately, the database does not contain social security numbers, driver's license numbers, or any financial information, but the fact remains that it is concerning for the safety of citizens.
The most shocking and crazy thing about the incident is that no one is taking responsibility for the exposed database. Various political technology groups and well-known companies that handle elections were asked, but all denied that the database belongs to them.
The FBI and the Internet Crime Complaint Center have been notified, and we are waiting to see how much longer these information will remain exposed and accessible to everyone.
