The names, addresses, emails and phone numbers used to save thousands of privately websites have been posted publicly by mistake over the past few months. As Ars Technica explains in an article marked with Reader:
“Google has disclosed all hidden whois data attached to more than 282,000 domain names registered through its Google Apps for Work service.”
Talos Group / Cisco
These are four engineers Talos, the Security Intelligence unit of Cisco, who discovered the problem:
“In mid-2013, a problem occurred and began to make public information hidden for domain name owners who chose to use the protection of privacy WHOIS. These areas all seem to have been recorded via Google App, using eNom as a domain name registrar (registrar in English). At the time of publishing this blog, 282,867 domain names, or roughly 94% seem to have been affected. (Google announces new domain names that have not had to renew itself are not affected, and many companies choose not to hide such information). “
Talos Group / Cisco
One of them, Craig Williams, said he contacted Google, who restored the privacy settings in six days. PC World recounts that Google attributed the problem to a fault in the software, but that no one had yet to be reached for more information.
However, Ars Technica points out that “is known as the whois data is often unreliable, as can be seen with all these fake names, fake addresses and other data in public Whois” .
“However, it is reasonable to think that some people may have been more open, so they used a Google service that was supposedly protect privacy and hide declaring such data. And even in some cases where the information was falsified, they can still provide important clues to the identity of individuals. Often when these datas are not pseudo-random, they follow a specific pattern that can lead to the creator of a particular group or other information. “
PC World, “The damage may take a while, though these protections to hide data is now back in place.” This is what Ars details Technica’s conclusion:
“It is not particularly easy for those who do not know how to access data related to 282,000 domain names, and even after two weeks have passed and that the data are new hidden. Registrars make it difficult to download, but as Cisco researchers explain, the falsified data are now part of Internet files and they will not be complicated to find if specific individuals want. It would not be a surprise if some of these hidden information now beginning to sell on the black market soon. “
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