Cybernews researchers have discovered a colossal data leak believed to be linked to People Data Labs (PDL), a San Francisco-based data broker, containing over 170 million records.
The breached data includes sensitive information such as full names, phone numbers, emails, location, skills, professional resumes, educational history, and employment history, putting those affected at risk of identity theft.
An unprotected Elasticsearch server has been identified as responsible for the leak, discovered by the team on June 25, indicating that a third party may have been responsible for managing PDL data.
PDL data leak includes 170 million records
While an unknown threat actor is likely responsible for the data leak, Cybernews has highlighted the poorly secured Elasticsearch server as a key vulnerability.
The team summarized: “The existence of data brokers is already a controversial issue, as they often do not have sufficient controls in place to ensure that data is not sold to the wrong parties.”
If the breach is indeed linked to PDL, it will not be the first time the company has been linked to a breach. In October 2019, it was revealed that more than 1 billion records from the company's databases were exposed online, believed to have affected 622 million people. At the time, PDL said it was not responsible for the breach.
Cybernews continued: “If this is a new leak, and not data processed and enriched from the 2019 leak by a third party, such an incident would demonstrate a high level of ignorance on the part of the company regarding the security of personal data.”
Those who suspect they may have been affected, as well as anyone who has received any suspicious emails, or simply those who want to maintain the highest levels of digital hygiene, should change their passwords regularly and use a reliable password manager, enable two-factor authentication and monitor their accounts.
TechRadar Pro People Data Labs has been contacted to confirm their association with this leak, but we have not received an immediate response.
