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A security breach exposed two-factor authentication (2FA) codes/password reset links for millions of users on platforms like Facebook, Google, and TikTok.
Key Points:
- YX International, an SMS routing company, left an internal database exposed online without a password.
- The database contained one-time 2FA codes and password reset links for various tech giants.
- YX International secured the database and claims to have "sealed the vulnerability."
- The company wouldn't confirm how long the database was exposed or if anyone else accessed it.
- Representatives from Meta, Google, and TikTok haven't commented yet.
Concerns:
- This leak highlights the vulnerabilities of SMS-based 2FA compared to app-based methods.
- The lack of information regarding the leak's duration and potential access by others raises concerns.
Gemini Recommendations:
- Consider switching to app-based 2FA for increased security.
- Be cautious of suspicious communications and avoid clicking unknown links.
- Stay informed about potential security breaches affecting your online accounts.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The Asian technology and internet company YX International manufactures cellular networking equipment and provides SMS text message routing services.
Anurag Sen, a good-faith security researcher and expert in discovering sensitive but inadvertently exposed datasets leaking to the internet, found the database.
Two-factor authentication (2FA) offers greater protection against online account hijacks that rely on password theft by sending an additional code to a trusted device, such as someone’s phone.
Two-factor codes and password resets, like the ones found in the exposed database, typically expire after a few minutes or once they are used.
But codes sent over SMS text messages are not as secure as stronger forms of 2FA — an app-based code generator, for example — since SMS text messages are prone to interception or exposure, or in this case, leaking from a database onto the open web.
When asked by TechCrunch, the YX International representative said that the server did not store access logs, which would have determined if anyone other than Sen discovered the exposed database and its contents.
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