Over 80 online stores, among them sex shops, have inadvertently leaked sensitive information about their clients onto the web.
The information has shown up on several major search engines, including Google, Yandex, Mail and Bing, says Russia’s communications watchdog.
The leaked data includes customers’ home and e-mail addresses, purchasing histories and receipts. Fifteen of the leaks have been classified as serious.
Specialists are now trying to establish the identity of the store owners. They will pass their findings on to the Prosecutor’s Office.
This is not the first time sensitive information has leaked into Russia’s search engines. On July 18 thousands of personal SMS text messages became available to view online for some time on Yandex and Google.
By entering a particular phone number or a special request, one could see the full texts of personal text messages and the phone numbers of the receivers, as well as the date they were sent. Predictably, the leak from Megafon mobile provider sparked a massive outcry among its clients.
A spokesman for Yandex has said the leak should be blamed on the Megafon website, as the search engine shows only data available from the original source.