A data breach leaks personal data of citizens of Ecuador

Ecuador recently has been hit by a major database breach and personal information of citizens has been leaked. It includes names, national ID card numbers, date of birth, home address and financial records. This is sensitive information and it going to the wrong hands can be very damaging for each citizen.

The database contained around 20.8 million people, which includes current as well as deceased citizens. This caused worry and panic for the citizens as their private information was not secure anymore. They must have disaster recovery backups to recover these problems. 

The breach was initially discovered by security researchers Noam Rotem and Ran Locar. A server, called Elasticsearch was discovered and was owned by a private company called Novaestrat.

Many notable individuals were also affected, including the President of Ecuador which forced the country to act immediately and smartly.

Apart from Novaestrat, the information was gathered through the country’s civil registry. The researchers were not able to reach the former registrar after several tries and were forced to reach out to the Ecuador CERT team (Computer Emergency Response Team). Upon receiving the news, they immediately shut down the database till further notice.

It is unclear whether they were able to recover the citizen’s data or not but if they had a proper backup and disaster recovery plan they would have easily recovered their data without having to worry about it getting lost.

How can a backup help?

With threats and breaches so common these days it is essential to have a backup plan in place. This acts as an insurance for your data and helps in recovery if anything is to happen to it.

There are many vendors who offer cloud backup disaster recovery services and offer exceptional features in reasonable rates. With a high competition, it is really easy to find a suitable vendor which suits you and your data best.

The main advantage of having a cloud backup is the ability to restore all your data in the event of a cyber-attack or breach. This way users can recover their files and gain access to them remotely. Depending on your vendor, you can opt for encryption and other security features such as ransomware or breach detection. This way you would know beforehand if there is a breach attempt and will deal with it before it actually happens. StoneFly offers such solutions in the most efficient and affordable way.

Conclusion

Data breaches and cyber-attacks are very common and it is best to be prepared for them beforehand, instead of waiting for an attack or breach to happen. Having a cloud backup enables users to back up their data and be worry free about cyber-attacks.