El Salvador's Adult Citizens' Data Exposed in Massive Leak
El Salvador faces a massive data breach, with nearly all its adult citizens' personal information exposed. The leak, suspected to have originated from the state-sponsored Chivo Bitcoin Wallet, has left around 5.1 million people vulnerable.
The Chivo Wallet, launched by the Salvadoran government, gained rapid popularity. Within days, over 2 million users registered, and within weeks, this number surpassed 4 million. The app's success was partly due to its use of OnboardID, a KYC/AML service, which helped attract users with a $30 starting credit. However, many users abandoned the app due to technical issues.
The data leak, which includes names, birthdays, email addresses, phone numbers, home addresses, ID numbers, and high-resolution photos, was published on the darknet after the hacker's ransom demand was not met. The data has been available for purchase since August last year for $250. This is not the first time El Salvador's government systems have been targeted; hackers have accessed personal information three times in the past four years. Despite no reported hack on the Bitcoin wallet itself, the government proactively moved about 6,274 BTC worth roughly $678 million into separate wallets to mitigate future risks.
The data leak in El Salvador is a serious concern, especially given the country's history of similar incidents. With citizens equating Bitcoin to the Chivo app, the security of the state-sponsored wallet is now under scrutiny. Authorities must prioritize investigating this breach and implementing robust security measures to protect citizens' personal information.
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