Four Terabytes of SQL Leaked from Azure client Ernst & Young

-


 A major data exposure incident involving Microsoft Azure occurred in late October 2025, when Ernst & Young (EY)—one of the Big Four accounting firms—inadvertently left a 4-terabyte SQL Server backup file publicly accessible on Azure Blob Storage. Here's a breakdown of what happened:

Incident Summary

  • What was exposed: A .BAK file containing a full SQL Server database backup.
  • Size: 4 terabytes—equivalent to millions of documents.
  • Contents:
    • Database schemas and stored procedures
    • API keys, session tokens, user credentials
    • Authentication tokens and service account passwords
    • Potentially sensitive financial and audit data. [cybersecur...tynews.com]

How It Happened

  • The exposure was not due to a hack, but a cloud misconfiguration:
    • During a cloud migration, an engineer mistakenly set the backup file to public instead of private.
    • The file was unencrypted, compounding the risk. [sdxcentral.com]
  • Neo Security, a cybersecurity firm, discovered the file during routine asset mapping.
    • They used a HEAD request to retrieve metadata and confirmed the file type using “magic bytes.”
    • Ownership was traced to EY via DNS SOA records and merger documents. [cybersecur...tynews.com]

Response & Remediation

  • EY’s Computer Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT) was contacted via LinkedIn after 15 attempts.
  • EY responded professionally and remediated the issue within a week.
  • EY stated that:

    “No client information, personal data, or confidential EY data has been impacted. The issue was localized to an entity acquired by EY Italy and was unconnected to EY global cloud and technology systems.” [cybersecur...tynews.com]

Security Implications

  • This incident highlights:
    • The risks of cloud misconfiguration, especially with default public access settings.
    • The importance of encryption at rest—had the file been encrypted, the exposure would have been far less severe.
    • The speed of automated botnet scanning, which can detect exposed data in minutes. [cyberpress.org]


Popular posts from this blog

WSUS CVE-2025-59287 Mitigation

-
Image
CVE-2025-59287 is a critical Remote Code Execution (RCE) vulnerability affecting Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) . Here's a detailed breakdown of what it is, how it works, and what you should do about it: Overview Disclosed: October 2025 Patch Tuesday CVSS Score: 9.8 (Critical) Affected Systems: Windows Server 2012 through 2025 (including Server Core installations) Exploitability: Microsoft rates it as “Exploitation More Likely” Technical Details The vulnerability arises from unsafe deserialization of untrusted data in WSUS. Specifically, the GetCookie() endpoint in WSUS processes encrypted AuthorizationCookie objects without proper type validation. The deserialization occurs via .NET BinaryFormatter , which is known to be insecure when handling untrusted input. Attackers can send a crafted SOAP request to WSUS over port 8530 , containing a malicious AuthorizationCookie . The cookie is decrypted using a hardcoded AES key and then deserialized, allow...
Read more

Cloud Infrastructures are Having a Bad Week

-
Image
  Today’s disruptions across Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services (AWS) were significant, but they’re not signs of cloud computing’s demise. Instead, they underscore the risks of centralization and the importance of designing systems that can withstand provider-level failures. What happened today? • Microsoft Azure outage: Azure’s Front Door service suffered a major disruption due to a misconfiguration, impacting services like Outlook, Xbox, Microsoft 365, and even third-party platforms like Starbucks and Alaska Airlines. The Azure website states a little more than disruption. "Azure Front Door - Connectivity issues - Observing recovery Starting at approximately 16:00 UTC on 29 October 2025, customers and Microsoft services leveraging Azure Front Door (AFD) may have experienced latencies, timeouts, and errors. We have confirmed that an inadvertent configuration change was the trigger event for this issue. Affected Azure services may have included, but were not limited to: App S...
Read more

Best Alternatives to Windows 10

-
Image
  Don't throw out that old computer just yet, give that older model system a make over while keeping up with security and free application cross overs.  ðŸ§Đ Best for Windows Users (Easy Transition) These look and feel most like Windows. Zorin OS ðŸ–Ĩ️ Interface similar to Windows 10/11. 🧰 Preinstalled software (LibreOffice, browser, media player). 💊 Very stable (based on Ubuntu). ðŸŽŊ Great for general users, offices, and older hardware. Linux Mint (Cinnamon Edition) 🊟 UI is almost identical to Windows. 🧠 Simple learning curve, light on resources. 🔒 Secure and regularly updated. ðŸ’Ą Perfect for replacing Windows 10 on older PCs. Ubuntu (with GNOME or Mate Desktop) 🌍 One of the most popular and supported distros. 🛠️ Tons of community help and documentation. ðŸ“Ķ Easy software installation via “Ubuntu Software Center.” ⚡ For Performance and Old Computers Great if you want something faster than Windows 10. Lubuntu ðŸŠķ Lightweigh...
Read more