Millions of free VPN user records leaked

Date:
Mon, 27 Jun 2022 15:52:12 +0000

Description:
Unprotected almost 20GB Bean VPN database contained sensitive user information.

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Free Virtual Private Network ( VPN ) service provider Bean VPN, has leaked personally identifiable information on millions of its users, researchers
have found.

Cybersecurity researchers from Cybernews stumbled upon a database with more than 18GB of connection logs generated by the app.

The database, discovered by the researchers during a routine checkup using ElasticSearch, reportedly contained more than 25 million records, including details such as device IDs, Play Service IDs, IP addresses, connection
stamps.

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All of these items, the researchers said, could be used to establish the
users true identities:

"The information found in this database could be used to de-anonymize Bean VPN's users and find their approximate location using geo-IP databases. The Play Service ID could also be used to find out the user's email address that they are signed in to their device with," Cybernews security researcher, Aras Nazarovas, said.

The app, which is not available on Apples app repository, has more than
50,000 downloads on the Google Play Store - where it appears to have been pulled from. Read more

China is finally loosening some rules on VPN services

Russia is spending big on VPN

VPN downloads in Russia have skyrocketed

However on its website, the company says it doesnt keep user activity logs, including no logging of browsing history, traffic destination, data content
or DNS queries.

It also says it doesnt collect IP addresses, outgoing VPN IP addresses, timestamps or the durations of sessions which, as Cybernews report suggests, is not true.

VPNs are a popular tool used to preserve ones privacy when going online. By hiding the endpoints true IP address and location, the user can circumvent various censorships and geographical blockades. Ever since Russia invaded Ukraine, its government blocked its citizens from accessing western media outlets, which triggered an enormous spike in VPN downloads in the country.

VPNs are also very popular in China, where people use it to bypass the Great Firewall of China.

Via: Cybernews



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/news/millions-of-free-vpn-users-records-leaked/


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