PBS has suffered a knowledge breach exposing the company contact info of its staff and people of its associates, BleepingComputer has discovered.
Earlier this month, BleepingComputer was alerted to a file circulated on Discord servers that allegedly contained this info.
This information was not distributed on darkish internet sites, hacking boards, or different mediums frequented by menace actors. As an alternative, it was being shared on Discord servers for followers of “PBS Youngsters,” the place younger adults, youngsters, and youthful youngsters can discuss in regards to the favourite exhibits they grew up watching.
“The younger adults, youngsters, and youngsters sharing it appear to be doing it extra out of a way of novelty, rebellious curiosity, or just to achieve a little bit of notoriety inside their peer teams,” BleepingComputer was instructed.
“It is much less about exploiting the info for monetary acquire and extra in regards to the ‘cool issue’ of possessing it.”
“That being mentioned, the potential for misuse is clearly there.”
BleepingComputer obtained the file and may verify it contains the company contact info for 3,997 PBS staff and associates.
Every document within the JSON file accommodates an worker’s identify, company e mail, title, timezone, division, location, job features, hobbies, and their supervisor’s identify.
After contacting PBS in regards to the breach, the corporate confirmed that it was stolen from an inside service used for public tv staff.
“After being notified {that a} file containing person information from MyPBS.org, an inside service for public tv staff was posted on-line, we launched an intensive investigation of the incident, which is ongoing,” a PBS spokesperson instructed BleepingComputer.
“We’ve got reached out to the customers whose info was recognized as concerned to tell them of this incident and at the moment, there isn’t a proof that this incident includes every other PBS techniques.”
BleepingComputer has not discovered of any malicious use of the info, but it surely continues to flow into amongst Discord communities as not too long ago as this weekend.
The supply who shared the info with BleepingComputer says they’re involved that the stolen information might draw undesirable consideration to those communities which are designed merely for followers to speak about a few of their favourite exhibits.
Whereas the breach seems to have originated extra from curiosity than felony intent, the publicity of worker information, notably amid ongoing political scrutiny of PBS and NPR, raises considerations about how the knowledge may very well be misused for harassment or doxxing.
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