Huge spam operator accidentally leaks database of 1.37 billion email addresses

Becky

Becky

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As a result of an unprotected back up, one of the largest spam operators has accidentally leaked a staggering 1.37 billion email addresses, it has been reported. As well as the email addresses, the data also includes real names, IP addresses and physical addresses.

The leaky files, it turns out, represent the backbone operations of a group calling themselves River City Media (RCM). Led by known spammers Alvin Slocombe and Matt Ferris, RCM masquerades as a legitimate marketing firm while, per their own documentation, being responsible for up to a billion daily email sends.

Think about that for a second. How can a group of about a dozen people be responsible for one billion emails sent in one day? The answer is a lot of automation, years of research, and fair bit of illegal hacking techniques.
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Read more here.
 
The scale of it is staggering. Seems like the data was gathered through a variety of means - some of which don't seem legal. It's negligent to have such a leak, but presumably they shouldn't have had the data in the first place... so I don't know how it will play out in terms of repercussions for those responsible.
 
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