DataBreaches.Net

Menu
  • About
  • Breach Notification Laws
  • Privacy Policy
  • Transparency Report
Menu

Unsecured Gearbest server exposes millions of shoppers and their orders

Posted on March 15, 2019 by Dissent

Zeljka Zorz reports:

Chinese e-commerce giant Gearbest has exposed information and orders of millions of its customers through an unsecured Elasticsearch server, security researcher Noam Rotem and his team have found.

According to Rotem, the server was not protected with a password and anyone could access it and search the data.

Also, despite assurances from the company that sensitive data is encrypted, most of the contents of the database were decidedly not.

Read more on HelpNetSecurity. This seems to be a more concerning what-could-happen leak than a lot of other leaks that researchers find online — in part, because passport numbers are involved, but in part because the content of some people’s orders is exposed:

“Hidden in the ‘Sales’ section of Gearbest’s ‘Apparel’ category, users can find a vast array of sex toys. The nature of the store’s open database means the details of your private purchases could quickly become public knowledge.”

For many people across the world, purchasing sex toys is not problematic, but for some, who live in countries with prohibitive laws regarding sexuality and homosexuality, this information could lead to a death sentence for users.

Once again, what might seem like just another human error incident could have life-threatening consequences.

Related posts:

  • How an unsecured Elasticsearch server exposed customer order information and passwords
Category: Business SectorExposureNon-U.S.Of Note

Post navigation

← How Hackers Pulled Off a $20 Million Mexican Bank Heist
Data Breach Reporting Obligations in Saskatchewan →

Now more than ever

"Stand with Ukraine:" above raised hands. The illustration is in blue and yellow, the colors of Ukraine's flag.

Search

Browse by Categories

Recent Posts

  • Qantas customers involved in mammoth data breach
  • CMS Sending Letters to 103,000 Medicare beneficiaries whose info was involved in a Medicare.gov breach.
  • Esse Health provides update about April cyberattack and notifies 263,601 people
  • Terrible tales of opsec oversights: How cybercrooks get themselves caught
  • International Criminal Court hit with cyber attack during NATO summit
  • Pembroke Regional Hospital reported canceling appointments due to service delays from “an incident”
  • Iran-linked hackers threaten to release emails allegedly stolen from Trump associates
  • National Health Care Fraud Takedown Results in 324 Defendants Charged in Connection with Over $14.6 Billion in Alleged Fraud
  • Swiss Health Foundation Radix Hit by Cyberattack Affecting Federal Data
  • Russian hackers get 7 and 5 years in prison for large-scale cyber attacks with ransomware, over 60 million euros in bitcoins seized

No, You Can’t Buy a Post or an Interview

This site does not accept sponsored posts or link-back arrangements. Inquiries about either are ignored.

And despite what some trolls may try to claim: DataBreaches has never accepted even one dime to interview or report on anyone. Nor will DataBreaches ever pay anyone for data or to interview them.

Want to Get Our RSS Feed?

Grab it here:

https://databreaches.net/feed/

RSS Recent Posts on PogoWasRight.org

  • The Trump administration is building a national citizenship data system
  • Supreme Court Decision on Age Verification Tramples Free Speech and Undermines Privacy
  • New Jersey Issues Draft Privacy Regulations: The New
  • Hacker helped kill FBI sources, witnesses in El Chapo case, according to watchdog report
  • Germany Wants Apple, Google to Remove DeepSeek From Their App Stores
  • Supreme Court upholds Texas law requiring age verification on porn sites
  • Justices nix Medicaid ‘right’ to choose doctor, defunding Planned Parenthood in South Carolina

Have a News Tip?

Email: Tips[at]DataBreaches.net

Signal: +1 516-776-7756

Contact Me

Email: info[at]databreaches.net

Mastodon: Infosec.Exchange/@PogoWasRight

Signal: +1 516-776-7756

DMCA Concern: dmca[at]databreaches.net
© 2009 – 2025 DataBreaches.net and DataBreaches LLC. All rights reserved.