Exactis became notable in June 2018, after a discovery by cybersecurity researcher Vinny Troia2 detailed how the organization made nearly 340 million detailed records about United States citizens available on a publicly accessible server,345 leaving those people at heightened risk of being impersonated, profiled or otherwise exploited through social engineering. The information has reportedly since been protected and removed from the public.6 However, the leak is notable due to the scale of data that was exposed, surpassing the Equifax breach which had exposed 145 million customers' personal data the year prior. 7
Exactis had reportedly accumulated some or all of its information without the knowledge or explicit consent of the data subjects.8
Paul, Kari (June 29, 2018). "What is Exactis—and how could it have leaked the data of nearly every American?". MarketWatch. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/what-is-exactisand-how-could-it-have-the-data-of-nearly-every-american-2018-06-28 ↩
"Marketing Firm Leaked Database With 340 Million Records". WIRED. Retrieved 2018-10-09. https://wired.com/story/exactis-database-leak-340-million-records/ ↩
"Exactis said to have exposed 340 million records in massive leak". 28 June 2018. https://www.cnet.com/news/exactis-340-million-people-may-have-been-exposed-in-bigger-breach-than-equifax/ ↩
"A New Data Leak Reportedly Exposed 230 Million Americans' Personal Information". http://fortune.com/2018/06/28/exactis-data-leak-personal-information/ ↩
"Marketing Firm Leaked Database With 340 Million Records". WIRED. June 27, 2018. https://www.wired.com/story/exactis-database-leak-340-million-records/ ↩
Al-Heeti, Abrar (June 28, 2018). "Exactis said to have exposed 340 million records in massive leak". CNET. Retrieved January 22, 2019. https://www.cnet.com/news/exactis-340-million-people-may-have-been-exposed-in-bigger-breach-than-equifax/ ↩