By 
In a calamitous breach, the personal data of nearly all citizens of Ecuador has been leaked online.
Researchers working on a web-mapping project at security company vpnMentor revealed on an indiscreet cloud server the names, telephone numbers, and monetary information of almost 20 million Ecuadoreans.
The huge 18GB store of data comprised personal information relating to persons who were reduced as well as to the country’s living population of around 17 million. Personal information relating to 6.7 million Ecuadorean children was among the data leaked.
Unprotected files exposed a large amount of sensitive personally recognizable information, such as family records, marriage dates, education histories, employment records, and official ten-digit government ID numbers called cédulas de identidad.
“This data breach is particularly serious simply because of how much information was revealed about each individual,” wrote Noam Rotem and Ran Locar from vpnMentor. “Scammers could use this information to establish trust and trick individuals into exposing more information.”
Tax archives and financial records exposing the account balances of customers of a large Ecuadorean bank were among the data breached.
Rotem and Locar wrote, “Although the exact details remain unclear, the leaked database appears to contain information obtained from outside sources. These sources may include Ecuadorian government registries, an automotive association called Aeade, and Biess, an Ecuadorian national bank.”
