Exactis Database Leak Exposes 340 Million Consumer Records
The information from the database could be used by malicious actors to wage phishing campaigns.
The latest deep dive into database leaks leaves us all with a stark reminder that siloed central repositories rife with consumer data are not exactly an ideal scenario after the private data of 340 million people was discovered to be stored on an exposed internet database by data marketing firm Exactis.
The database contained information on individual political preferences, browsing habits, and purchase history over vast range of products. Unlike other hacks in the past the database did not contain consumer credit card or social security numbers. However if used wisely, the information in the database could be used to socially engineer spear-phishing attacks by a malicious actor.
Access to information such as what was contained in the Exactis database, which the company has since taken offline, can also be used to engage in wider phishing campaigns where millions of messages are sent to people in an effort to get them to follow a link to a phishing site. Now it’s easier than ever to set up a phishing site that looks real, so it’s important that everyone protect themselves with powerful countermeasures such as the Cryptonite browser extension for Chrome, Firefox and Opera, powered by the MetaCert Protocol.
In light of the recent data breach, and others that preceded it, MetaCert wants you to know that we’re absolutely committed to your privacy. While our security tools powered by the MetaCert Protocol provide monitoring and warning services to individuals and communities, shielding them from malicious actors, we never gather private data on our users.
MetaCert simply protects you when breaches occur by categorizing malicious resources before they get to you with the MetaCert Protocol.
If you want to learn more about the MetaCert Protocol, ask questions and leave suggestions on both our White Paper and Technical Paper which we’ve published here on Medium and have made available for download in PDF form as well:
The MetaCert Protocol will ultimately operate on the staking of META Tokens to categorize URIs. Both a public and private sale for META Tokens will be held. The public sale for META Tokens will begin July 25, 2018 and last until August 25, 2018.
The private sale for META Tokens began on June 20, 2018 and is ongoing until July 20, 2018.
MetaCert is creating solutions for anti-phishing, child safety, brand protection, crypto-address verification, and news credibility with the MetaCert Protocol. You can find out more about the MetaCert Protocol by joining our Telegram community to stay up to date on our blockchain project. Remember to install Cryptonite, to protect yourself from phishing scams before it’s too late.
