‘BlueLeaks’ data dump exposes files from over 200 police departments and FBI groups online

A data dump called ‘BlueLeaks’ exposed hundreds of thousands of sensitive files from US police and FBI departments online.

A Twitter users revealed the leak on the social media site saying it includes ten years of data from over 200 departments, along with sensitive documents and FBI reports.

Security experts traced the files back to a data center in Houston, Texas that fell victim to a data breach this month and found the leak includes nearly 24 years of information.

The files include names, email addresses, phone numbers, PDF documents, images and a large number of text and videos.

There are also memos highlighting specific clothing, tattoos, signs and cars of protesters that could be a potential threat – officers have made arrests based on these using photos from protests. 

Although experts do not believe it will reveal police misconduct, the event could expose sensitive investigations and endanger lives of those involved.

 

There are memos highlighting specific clothing, tattoos, signs and cars of protesters that could be a potential threat – officers have made arrests based on these using photos from protests

The BlueLeaks data dump occurred June 19, which is also known as ‘Juneteenth’ – a national celebration to commemorate the end of slavery in the US, KrebsOnSecurity reports.

Twitter user Distributed Denial of Secrets (DDoSecrets), shared that the data dumpy includes 269 gigabytes of information.

‘Ten years of data from over 200 police departments, fusion centers and other law enforcement training and support resources, one of the user’s posts reads.

‘Among the hundreds of thousands of documents are police and FBI reports, bulletins, guides and more.’

The BlueLeaks data dump occurred June 19, which is also known as 'Juneteenth' – a national celebration to commemorate the end of slavery in the US

The BlueLeaks data dump occurred June 19, which is also known as ‘Juneteenth’ – a national celebration to commemorate the end of slavery in the US

DDoSecrets also shares some of the departments in the US were included in the leak, including information centers, FBI departments and police units

DDoSecrets also shares some of the departments in the US were included in the leak, including information centers, FBI departments and police units

DDoSecrets also shares some of the departments in the US were included in the leak, including information centers, FBI departments and police units.

However, a memo obtained by KrebsOnSecurity shows that the leak includes information from August 1996 through June 19, 2020.

The internal analysis notes that the documents include names, email addresses, phone numbers, PDF documents, images, and a large number of text, video, CSV and ZIP files.

‘Additionally, the data dump contains emails and associated attachments,’ the alert reads.

‘Our initial analysis revealed that some of these files contain highly sensitive information such as ACH routing numbers, international bank account numbers (IBANs), and other financial data as well as personally identifiable information (PII) and images of suspects listed in Requests for Information (RFIs) and other law enforcement and government agency reports.’

All of the leaked data was traced back to a security breach at Netsential in Houston.

The documents reveal how law enforcement is picking out extremists at protests

The documents reveal how law enforcement is picking out extremists at protests

The internal analysis notes that the documents include names, email addresses, phone numbers, PDF documents, images, and a large number of text, video, CSV and ZIP files

The internal analysis notes that the documents include names, email addresses, phone numbers, PDF documents, images, and a large number of text, video, CSV and ZIP files

‘Preliminary analysis of the data contained in this leak suggests that Netsential, a web services company used by multiple fusion centers, law enforcement, and other government agencies across the United States, was the source of the compromise,’ the National Fusion Center Association Cyber Intelligence Network wrote.

‘Netsential confirmed that this compromise was likely the result of a threat actor who leveraged a compromised Netsential customer user account and the web platform’s upload feature to introduce malicious content, allowing for the exfiltration of other Netsential customer data.’

The files, which can be downloaded, reveals the FBI and other police departments have been scanning social media accounts looking for organized protests over the death of George Floyd, an man who was killed while in police custody last month, Business Insider reports.

An unclassified FBI memo to law enforcement in May states that ‘law enforcement supports’ safety’ may be in danger.

The document includes two tweets that discusses aggressive acts against those who support the ‘Blue Lives Matter’ movement.

The documents do not include information about police misconduct or complaints of any actions against certain departments

The documents do not include information about police misconduct or complaints of any actions against certain departments

There are other internal memos in the data dumpy that show discussions on specific clothing, signs and cars of protesters that could be threats.

And police officers have made arrests after tracking people down using photos taken at protests.

However, the documents do not include information about police misconduct or complaints of any actions against certain departments.

Stewart Baker, an attorney at the Washington, D.C. office of Steptoe & Johnson LLP and a former assistant secretary of policy at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, told KrebsOnSecutiry that the BlueLeaks data is unlikely to shed much light on police misconduct, but could expose sensitive law enforcement investigations and even endanger lives.

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk