The adult live streaming platform CAM4 has suffered a massive data breach, revealing the identities of millions of its users. Discovered by security researchers at Safety Detectives, the breach was caused by a server configuration error that made 7TB of user data (comprising 10.88 billion records in total) easily discoverable online. Although the misconfigured ElasticSearch database does not betray users' specific sexual preferences, it does include personally identifiable information, including names, email addresses, payment details, chat logs, and sexual orientation.
CAM4 data breach
The popular adult platform is mainly used by amateur cam models to deliver explicit content to the live audience. To access premium content or advice, users must first register on the site, separating personal and financial details. According to the researchers, there is no evidence that the breach was caused by a cyber attack or that the data was diverted into the database. However, incidents like this form the basis of the main argument against stricter regulation of pornographic websites: a project abandoned by the UK for fear that the privacy of users would be compromised in case of breach or hacking The moment of CAM4's breach is no accident either, as traffic to porn sites is going through the roof after the coronavirus pandemic. For example, on Pornhub, its traffic increased by 24,4% at the end of March, in line with the widespread introduction of blocking measures. It is not known exactly how many CAM4 users have been compromised, but analysis suggests that records of approximately 6.6 million American users were present on the server, with Brazilians, Italians and French also among the most heavily represented demographics. Fortunately, only a few hundred entries revealed the user's full name and credit card information, a particularly dangerous combination due to the potential for financial fraud. CAM4 did not immediately respond to our request for comment, but has since secured the vulnerable server. Via security detectives