**Ghost Database of Georgian Citizens Appears and Disappears**
A database containing millions of records on Georgian citizens has been discovered in the cloud, but then mysteriously disappeared. The leak was detected by a cybersecurity researcher and a team from Cybernews.
The database was an unprotected Elasticsearch index, which is a platform for data analytics and search. The researchers believe that the data was collected or aggregated from multiple sources, including government or commercial databases.
**Sensitive Information Exposed**
The exposed data included personal details such as ID numbers, full names, birthdays, genders, phone numbers, and other sensitive information. There were nearly five million individuals’ records in one index and over seven million phone records with associated personal information.
**Threat of Identity Theft**
Cybersecurity experts warn that cybercriminals may attempt to commit identity theft by impersonating individuals or using social engineering techniques to hijack accounts and commit financial crime.
**Server Taken Offline**
The server hosting the database was taken offline shortly after the discovery of the breach, with public access to the data closed. The Personal Data Protection Service of Georgia has been contacted for comment, and this news will be updated as soon as a response is received.
Read More @ civil.ge
