Companies are increasingly working to ensure their digital security is intact by investigating any system vulnerabilities that could potentially put them at risk. While businesses are acting more vigilant, phishing attacks still tend to take place, and there is always a risk of a breach and data exposure. Such has been the case with Mars Hydro, a Chinese company specializing in indoor growing and hydroponics equipment that was exposed to a massive breach compromising 2.7 billion records due to an unprotected database.
China's Mars Hydro fell prey to a massive data breach that led to huge records being leaked
Cyberattackers seem to have recently been able to exploit vulnerabilities in many companies' systems, and their databases often fall into the wrong hands, leading to a potential risk of sensitive information being leaked. China's Mars Hydro has been exposed to a major data breach that has led to 2.7 billion records being leaked. The breach leaked sensitive customer data, including information about smartphones and operating systems such as iOS and Android as well as Wi-Fi networks.
Since the database at Mars Hydro was not protected by a password, it led to major records being leaked that included Wi-Fi SSID network names and passwords, IP addresses, email addresses, and details regarding the smartphones used and whether they supported iOS or Android. Not only does this lead to the potential threat of unauthorized access to the devices and the networks, but it also can give cybercriminals room to monitor communication and target users through compromised contact information. It could even lead to man-in-the-middle attacks where traffic between users and devices can be manipulated.
From all the risk possibilities, man-in-the-middle attacks are most dangerous as the two parties involved in the communication would not have any knowledge of the attacker's alterations. This could even lead to impersonations, as the exploiters could access sensitive login details, financial information, and even company data as part of the eavesdropping attack.
Since Mars Hydro uses smartphones to control some of the hydroponic products, the company provides a mobile app in both the App Store and the Google Play Store. The app provides multiple language support, including English, French, Chinese, and German. While the app's privacy policy states it does not collect user data, it could be that the IoT devices, when connected to the user's network, could possibly have transmitted information, which then exposed the records. While there is little information available on the leaked data being maliciously used, there is always the risk, and hence, companies should secure their databases further and be more aware of any vulnerabilities within their systems.
