A number of hugely-popular adult websites have exposed the personal information of millions of visitors and performers. The leak was caused because the company behind the website decided to keep the database of personal information unencrypted.
The impacted websites were in the camgirl-style, which see paying visitors watch performers live via a webcam either in a private session, or with other users in the chat room. Barcelona-based company VTS Media owned the sites, including the likes of amateur.tv and placercams.com.
Most of the millions of users are based in Spain and Europe, although there is some evidence that subscribers were as far-reaching as the United States. According to Alexa traffic rankings, amateur.tv is one of the most popular adult websites available in Spain.
The sensitive database, which contained months of daily logs of users’ activity on the website, was left without a password for weeks. Those logs contained details of exactly when users logged into the website, as well as their username and password, any comments left under videos, and in some instances, users’ IP address – which can be used to pinpoint the exact location where someone logged into the website.
The logs also included users’ private chat messages with other users and a complete list of all the videos watched, TechCrunch claims.
All in, the records were brimming with enough information to see which users were logged into the website, what time and where, as well any email addresses and other identifiable information. TechCrunch says it was able to use this information to match the leaked user information to real-world identities.
Not only that, but you’d then have intimate details on exactly the type of videos that person is watching, the comments behind made in private chatrooms, and more.
Researchers at cybersecurity and internet freedom company Condition:Black were the first to discover the exposed database.
Condition:Black founder John Wethington said: “This was a serious failure from a technical and compliance perspective. After reviewing the sites’ data privacy policy and terms and conditions, it’s clear that users likely had no idea that their activities being monitored to this level of detail.”
“Users should always take into consideration the implications of their data leaking but especially where the implications could be life altering.”