What happened in the Master Deeds data breach?
Twingate Team
•
May 13, 2024
In a significant data breach that came to light in October 2017, a large database backup file named "Master Deeds" was found to contain the personal data of a considerable portion of the South African population, both living and deceased. The data, allegedly sourced from Dracore Data Sciences, was discovered on a publicly accessible web server. The breach raised concerns about data privacy and the security measures in place to protect sensitive information.
How many accounts were compromised?
The breach impacted data related to approximately 2.26 million individuals.
What data was leaked?
The data exposed in the breach included dates of birth, deceased statuses, email addresses, employers, ethnicities, genders, government issued IDs, home ownership statuses, job titles, names, nationalities, phone numbers, and physical addresses.
How was Master Deeds hacked?
The "Master Deeds" data breach occurred when a 27GB MySQL database backup file containing personal data of millions of South Africans was exposed on a publicly accessible web server. The breach was not a result of hacking, but rather unauthorized access to the data. Specific methods used by the perpetrators to obtain the data remain unclear, as the investigation is still ongoing with involvement from the South African Department of Home Affairs and the Hawks (Directorate for Priority Crimes Investigations).
Master Deeds's solution
In response to the data breach, Master Deeds took several measures to enhance their security and prevent future incidents. This included securing the exposed data by removing it from the publicly accessible web server, investigating the source of the breach, and working with authorities such as the South African Department of Home Affairs and the Hawks.
While specific details on additional security measures taken by Master Deeds are not available, it is expected that they would have taken steps to strengthen their data protection protocols and ensure the privacy of their customers' information to prevent similar occurrences in the future.
How do I know if I was affected?
It is not clear whether Master Deeds reached out to affected users following the data breach. If you believe you may have been affected by the breach, you can visit Have I Been Pwned to check if your email address has been compromised in this or any other data breach.
What should affected users do?
In general, affected users should:
Change Your Passwords: Immediately update your passwords for any accounts that may have been compromised. Make sure the new passwords are strong and unique, not previously used on any other platform.
Reset Passwords for Other Accounts: If you've used the same or similar passwords for other online accounts, reset those as well. This is crucial as attackers often try using stolen passwords on multiple sites.
Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): Activate 2FA on any affected accounts. Consider enabling this additional security feature on all other important online accounts to significantly reduce the risk of unauthorized access.
Where can I go to learn more?
If you want to find more information on the Master Deeds data breach, check out the following news articles:
Rapidly implement a modern Zero Trust network that is more secure and maintainable than VPNs.
What happened in the Master Deeds data breach?
Twingate Team
•
May 13, 2024
In a significant data breach that came to light in October 2017, a large database backup file named "Master Deeds" was found to contain the personal data of a considerable portion of the South African population, both living and deceased. The data, allegedly sourced from Dracore Data Sciences, was discovered on a publicly accessible web server. The breach raised concerns about data privacy and the security measures in place to protect sensitive information.
How many accounts were compromised?
The breach impacted data related to approximately 2.26 million individuals.
What data was leaked?
The data exposed in the breach included dates of birth, deceased statuses, email addresses, employers, ethnicities, genders, government issued IDs, home ownership statuses, job titles, names, nationalities, phone numbers, and physical addresses.
How was Master Deeds hacked?
The "Master Deeds" data breach occurred when a 27GB MySQL database backup file containing personal data of millions of South Africans was exposed on a publicly accessible web server. The breach was not a result of hacking, but rather unauthorized access to the data. Specific methods used by the perpetrators to obtain the data remain unclear, as the investigation is still ongoing with involvement from the South African Department of Home Affairs and the Hawks (Directorate for Priority Crimes Investigations).
Master Deeds's solution
In response to the data breach, Master Deeds took several measures to enhance their security and prevent future incidents. This included securing the exposed data by removing it from the publicly accessible web server, investigating the source of the breach, and working with authorities such as the South African Department of Home Affairs and the Hawks.
While specific details on additional security measures taken by Master Deeds are not available, it is expected that they would have taken steps to strengthen their data protection protocols and ensure the privacy of their customers' information to prevent similar occurrences in the future.
How do I know if I was affected?
It is not clear whether Master Deeds reached out to affected users following the data breach. If you believe you may have been affected by the breach, you can visit Have I Been Pwned to check if your email address has been compromised in this or any other data breach.
What should affected users do?
In general, affected users should:
Change Your Passwords: Immediately update your passwords for any accounts that may have been compromised. Make sure the new passwords are strong and unique, not previously used on any other platform.
Reset Passwords for Other Accounts: If you've used the same or similar passwords for other online accounts, reset those as well. This is crucial as attackers often try using stolen passwords on multiple sites.
Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): Activate 2FA on any affected accounts. Consider enabling this additional security feature on all other important online accounts to significantly reduce the risk of unauthorized access.
Where can I go to learn more?
If you want to find more information on the Master Deeds data breach, check out the following news articles:
Rapidly implement a modern Zero Trust network that is more secure and maintainable than VPNs.
What happened in the Master Deeds data breach?
Twingate Team
•
May 13, 2024
In a significant data breach that came to light in October 2017, a large database backup file named "Master Deeds" was found to contain the personal data of a considerable portion of the South African population, both living and deceased. The data, allegedly sourced from Dracore Data Sciences, was discovered on a publicly accessible web server. The breach raised concerns about data privacy and the security measures in place to protect sensitive information.
How many accounts were compromised?
The breach impacted data related to approximately 2.26 million individuals.
What data was leaked?
The data exposed in the breach included dates of birth, deceased statuses, email addresses, employers, ethnicities, genders, government issued IDs, home ownership statuses, job titles, names, nationalities, phone numbers, and physical addresses.
How was Master Deeds hacked?
The "Master Deeds" data breach occurred when a 27GB MySQL database backup file containing personal data of millions of South Africans was exposed on a publicly accessible web server. The breach was not a result of hacking, but rather unauthorized access to the data. Specific methods used by the perpetrators to obtain the data remain unclear, as the investigation is still ongoing with involvement from the South African Department of Home Affairs and the Hawks (Directorate for Priority Crimes Investigations).
Master Deeds's solution
In response to the data breach, Master Deeds took several measures to enhance their security and prevent future incidents. This included securing the exposed data by removing it from the publicly accessible web server, investigating the source of the breach, and working with authorities such as the South African Department of Home Affairs and the Hawks.
While specific details on additional security measures taken by Master Deeds are not available, it is expected that they would have taken steps to strengthen their data protection protocols and ensure the privacy of their customers' information to prevent similar occurrences in the future.
How do I know if I was affected?
It is not clear whether Master Deeds reached out to affected users following the data breach. If you believe you may have been affected by the breach, you can visit Have I Been Pwned to check if your email address has been compromised in this or any other data breach.
What should affected users do?
In general, affected users should:
Change Your Passwords: Immediately update your passwords for any accounts that may have been compromised. Make sure the new passwords are strong and unique, not previously used on any other platform.
Reset Passwords for Other Accounts: If you've used the same or similar passwords for other online accounts, reset those as well. This is crucial as attackers often try using stolen passwords on multiple sites.
Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): Activate 2FA on any affected accounts. Consider enabling this additional security feature on all other important online accounts to significantly reduce the risk of unauthorized access.
Where can I go to learn more?
If you want to find more information on the Master Deeds data breach, check out the following news articles:
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