Close Menu
Technology Mag

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the latest creative news from FooBar about art, design and business.

    What's Hot

    The GOP’s big spending bill could kill renewable energy projects

    July 1, 2025

    A Dedicated Hot Dog Cooker Is the Spirit of American Summer

    July 1, 2025

    Nothing Headphone 1 review: head-turning

    July 1, 2025
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    Subscribe
    Technology Mag
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram YouTube
    • Home
    • News
    • Business
    • Games
    • Gear
    • Reviews
    • Science
    • Security
    • Trending
    • Press Release
    Technology Mag
    Home » A Leak of Biometric Police Data Is a Sign of Things to Come
    Security

    A Leak of Biometric Police Data Is a Sign of Things to Come

    News RoomBy News RoomJune 1, 20243 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Reddit WhatsApp Email

    Thousands of law enforcement officials and people applying to be police officers in India have had their personal information leaked online—including fingerprints, facial scan images, signatures, and details of tattoos and scars on their bodies. If that wasn’t alarming enough, at around the same time, cybercriminals have started to advertise the sale of similar biometric police data from India on messaging app Telegram.

    Last month, security researcher Jeremiah Fowler spotted the sensitive files on an exposed web server linked to ThoughtGreen Technologies, an IT development and outsourcing firm with offices in India, Australia, and the US. Within a total of almost 500 gigabytes of data spanning 1.6 million documents, dated from 2021 until when Fowler discovered them in early April, was a mine of sensitive personal information about teachers, railway workers, and law enforcement officials. Birth certificates, diplomas, education certificates, and job applications were all included.

    Fowler, who shared his findings exclusively with WIRED, says within the heaps of information, the most concerning were those that appeared to be verification documents linked to Indian law enforcement or military personnel. While the misconfigured server has now been closed off, the incident highlights the risks of companies collecting and storing biometric data, such as fingerprints and facial images, and how they could be misused if the data is accidentally leaked.

    “You can change your name, you can change your bank information, but you can’t change your actual biometrics,” Fowler says. The researcher, who also published the findings on behalf of Website Planet, says this kind of data could be used by cybercriminals or fraudsters to target people in the future, a risk that’s increased for sensitive law enforcement positions.

    Within the database Fowler examined were several mobile applications and installation files. One was titled “facial software installation,” and a separate folder contained 8 GB of facial data. Photographs of people’s faces included computer-generated rectangles that are often used for measuring the distance between points of the face in face recognition systems.

    There were 284,535 documents labeled as Physical Efficiency Tests that related to police staff, Fowler says. Other files included job application forms for law enforcement officials, profile photos, and identification documents with details such as “mole at nose” and “cut on chin.” At least one image shows a person holding a document with a corresponding photo of them included on it. “The first thing I saw was thousands and thousands of fingerprints,” Fowler says.

    Prateek Waghre, executive director of Indian digital rights organization Internet Freedom Foundation, says there is “vast” biometric data collection happening across India, but there are added security risks for people involved in law enforcement. “A lot of times, the verification that government employees or officers use also relies on biometric systems,” Waghre says. “If you have that potentially compromised, you are in a position for someone to be able to misuse and then gain access to information that they shouldn’t.”

    It appears that some biometric information about law enforcement officials may already be shared online. Fowler says after the exposed database was closed down he also discovered a Telegram channel, containing a few hundred members, which was claiming to sell Indian police data, including of specific individuals. “The structure, the screenshots, and a couple of the folder names matched what I saw,” says Fowler, who for ethical reasons did not purchase the data being sold by the criminals so could not fully verify it was exactly the same data.

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email
    Previous Article‘Largest Botnet Ever’ Tied to Billions in Stolen Covid-19 Relief Funds
    Next Article This walking app let me whack my co-workers with a baseball bat

    Related Posts

    Telegram Purged Chinese Crypto Scam Markets—Then Watched as They Rebuilt

    June 30, 2025

    Taiwan Is Rushing to Make Its Own Drones Before It’s Too Late

    June 28, 2025

    What Satellite Images Reveal About the US Bombing of Iran’s Nuclear Sites

    June 27, 2025

    Here’s What Federal Troops Can (and Can’t) Do While Deployed in LA

    June 25, 2025

    Truth Social Crashes as Trump Live-Posts Iran Bombing

    June 25, 2025

    ‘No Kings’ Protests, Citizen-Run ICE Trackers Trigger Intelligence Warnings

    June 23, 2025
    Our Picks

    A Dedicated Hot Dog Cooker Is the Spirit of American Summer

    July 1, 2025

    Nothing Headphone 1 review: head-turning

    July 1, 2025

    The MLS Season Pass is 50 percent off ahead of the All-Star game and Leagues Cup 

    July 1, 2025

    Senator Blackburn Pulls Support for AI Moratorium in Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Amid Backlash

    July 1, 2025
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Pinterest
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
    • Vimeo
    Don't Miss
    News

    Laptop Mag is shutting down

    By News RoomJuly 1, 2025

    Laptop Mag is shutting down after nearly 35 years of providing consumers with in-depth information…

    How to Make AI Faster and Smarter—With a Little Help From Physics

    July 1, 2025

    Xiaomi’s YU7 Is an SUV-Sized Middle Finger to Tesla’s Model Y

    July 1, 2025

    Apple accuses former Vision Pro engineer of stealing trade secrets

    July 1, 2025
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of use
    • Advertise
    • Contact
    © 2025 Technology Mag. All Rights Reserved.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.