Data Breach Sunday: Anonymous Coward Exposes 6 Million Chileans

May 18, 2008

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Wow, this is quite possibly the worst data breach I have ever heard of.

FayerWayer.com (translated “FireWire”) is a popular technology blog in Chile. Normally topics range from iPods, iPhones, Wiis, software, and gadgets.

This is what one of the site editors expected to see when he checked the site at 2am and read this post.

In one of the comments, a user calling himself “Anonymous Coward” (a Slashdot user I guess?) attached 3 files.

When the editor opened them up, he got quite a surprise. Those 3 files contained the Taxpayer Identification Number (like a SSN), names, addresses, phone numbers, and academic history for 6 million residents of Chile.

The fast-acting FayerWayer editor removed the files right away and contacted the police. Of course, the Internet being what it is, those files have spread like wildfire popping up on blogs and other file sharing sites.

It appears that the information was pulled off of an Education Ministry server via an anonymous proxy.

Why did he do it?

In a note accompanying the files, Anonymous Coward said he posted the databases to draw attention to the poor data protection measures in the country of 16 million people.

I would submit that the smarter thing to do would have been to contact the media and say that he had the files rather than post them for everyone to see, but either way his goal was accomplished. This case and data security in general is front page news all over Chile.

One person caught up in this drama is the President’s daughter. The data apparently shows that she is on the list to get subsidized transit passes, even though technically the president’s income should be too high to qualify.

So far there haven’t been any reports of identity theft coming out of the release of this data, but you know it’s only a matter of time for that.

Source: ABC News via Breach Blog

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