How much of your data is going missing? Image by Tim Sandle.
Since 2004, over 23 billion accounts have been compromised, exposing nearly 58 billion data points, including sensitive personal details like eye colour, shoe size and more. This translates to 28.8 million individual pieces of information. To put that into perspective, this is nearly equivalent to the entire population of Australia having their physical traits leaked online.
The company Surfshark has recently analysed data from 160 countries, grouped 100 different types of leaked data points into nine distinct categories, and provided an overview shared with .
The danger surrounding this is not simply a stolen password; it is the aggregation of seemingly minor details. When physical features like height, shoe size, or even eye colour are added to the mix, it provides personally identifiable information that enables account takeovers, very personalised and sophisticated identity theft, financial loss, and fraud schemes.
Overview of different leaked data points
In the report, Surfshark looked at countries with populations over one million and grouped types of leaked data points into nine distinct categories: personal information, passwords, education, finance, location, social media, physical characteristics data, vehicle data, and other.
Overall, the password category (containing information about exact passwords, their hints, security questions, and their answers) accounts for 30% of all leaks, with the actual password field being the most frequently exposed single data point. This data point alone has been leaked 10.4 billion times, accounting for nearly a quarter (23%) of all data points.
Personal information (29%) and location data (23%) categories follow closely. When analysing the most leaked data types by country, the US stands out by ranking in the top three for 18 of the 20 most leaked data types. These include first name, last name, full name, phone, address, and location.
More than just usernames and passwords
While login credentials and contact details are the most commonly compromised in data leaks, the scope of exposed information often extends to highly personal, physical attributes of an individual’s life. Although these data categories are less frequently leaked, they are crucial in augmenting a digital profile with realworld characteristics, making the concept of “digital doppelgänger” chillingly plausible.
Israel leads the world in the exposure of physical features data, followed by France, Australia, and the US.
The leaks are so detailed that security researchers can identify which countries lead in particular attributes:
- Israel has the most leaks related to height;
- France leads in exposed data on eye colour, hair colour, and weight;
- The U.S. ranks first for leaked shoe size data.
According to Sereika, the real danger arises when various data points are combined. The more personalized the information criminals have, the easier and more dangerous an attack becomes. While you can reset a leaked password, your eye colour, once exposed, is lost forever. People have to pay more attention to what information they share online.
To protect your digital footprint the report advises reviewing your online presence, limiting the amount of personal information you share, and demanding greater data security from the companies people entrust with their data.
