EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

When nearly 270 gigabytes of US police data were dumped onto the internet several weeks ago (over a million individual files), the incident garnered much attention, along with the name BlueLeaks. The data came from over 200 different police departments and contingent organizations, spanning a time period of 24 years.

Earlier this week, officials seized the computer server hosting the leaked data. The server resided in Falkenstein, Germany, and belonged to the DDoSecrets activist group. It is currently thought that the DDoSecrets group is the most influential leaking organization on the web. Recently, the group published information stolen from the Chilean military.

In relation to the seized server, the founder of DDosSecrets, stated in a Tweet:

Tweet from DDoSecrets, Emma Best

The information shared in the BlueLeaks data dump offered insights into police departments’ activities, which are of particular relevance in the wake of George Floyd’s death and the subsequent protests.

Twitter users who parsed the BlueLeaks information report that the FBI had collected social media details pertaining to those involved in the Black Lives Matter protests. Share on X

The BlueLeaks files were originally pulled from a third-party vendor to the US federal government, in Houston, Texas. How can organizations ensure that they don’t fall victim to the type of data breaches that led to BlueLeaks? Pursue a Zero Trust strategy. A complex digital ecosystem means that Zero Trust is a must.

For more on Zero Trust, click here.