Nov 15, 2018

Report: Database of login text messages left exposed online

Joe Uchill

Man with cellphone and laptop leans against wall with bicycle — Photo: Westend61 via Getty Images

A database containing millions of text messages used to authenticate users signing into websites was left exposed to the internet without a password, TechCrunch's Zack Whittaker reports.

Why it matters: What was at risk here were those text messages a bank might send customers after they entered a passwords, password reset links and other automated text messages sent by businesses. While there's no evidence that a malicious actor was monitoring the database, it was dangerous information to have exposed.

Details: The database belonged to the automated text message service Voxox. Per the report:

The database was discovered by security researcher Sébastien Kaul and remained online until Whittaker contacted Voxox.
The text messages included security codes sent by Fidelity Investments, Booking.com and Google.
Voxox had sent more than 26 million text messages to date this year.

But, but, but: Remember, these codes typically only remain active for a few minutes. So while the danger would be very real, only text messages that were being monitored as they were added to the database would put anyone's account at risk.

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Report: Database of login text messages left exposed online

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