A British cybersecurity researcher uncovered his own personal data exposed online after discovering an unsecured database. The unprotected Elasticsearch database was found by Bob Diachenko, leader of security research at Comparitech, on August 22 of this year. Diachenko found 200GB of digital index records dating back a decade. The information pertained to 106 million international travelers, including Diachenko himself. Personal information left exposed included full names, arrival dates, gender, residency status, visa information, passport numbers, and Thai arrival card numbers.
Before Covid-19, Thailand was a popular travel destination and attracted roughly 40 million visitors in 2019. Diachenko confirmed that the database contained personal information regarding his trip to Thailand. Researchers at Comparitech were unable to determine how long the database had been exposed. It was indexed by the search engine Censys on August 20, 2021. Diachenko notified the Thai authorities of the data breach and the database was secured within 24 hours. Thai officials claim that there was no evidence that the data was access by any unauthorized parties.
Read More: Data of 106 Million Visitors to Thailand Breached
