Data leak in Moscow exposes personal data of 300,000 people who had Covid-19

Personal data of 300,000 Muscovites who had recovered from Covid-19 has been made publicly accessible. The leak is the largest since the start of the pandemic, according to the Telegram channel Baza.

The tables include full names, year of birth, registered address, and patients’ mobile numbers. Some records also reveal passport details.

Data: Baza.

The source of the leak has not yet been established. Baza suggested that the information may have been stolen from a medical worker’s computer. Access to this information is also available to the Moscow City Services Committee.

City hall officials are investigating the incident and conducting cleanup operations in Telegram channels where databases are being circulated.

Update: The head of Moscow’s Department of Information Technologies, Eduard Lysenko, said the leak did not occur as a result of hacking, but due to human error.

According to him, the employees who handled official documents allowed the transfer of these files to third parties.

Readovka, after studying the leak data, concluded that Moscow authorities are underreporting the number of cases by at least a factor of 1.5.

Data: Readovka.

Earlier, the Moscow mayor’s office announced a tender to develop a system for creating digital profiles of residents for 280 million rubles.

Earlier, the nongovernmental organization Freedom House prepared a report on how the pandemic is killing internet freedom:

How the pandemic is killing freedom on the internet: a Freedom House report

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