In January 2025, cybersecurity experts at WIZ Research discovered that Chinese AI expert DeepSeek was suffering from data leaks, putting more than a million sensitive log streams at risk.
According to the Wiz Research team, they have identified a publicable Clickhouse database belonging to DeepSeek. This “gives complete control over database operations, including the ability to access internal data,” Wiz Research said it involves over a million log streams, including chat history, private keys and more.
Wiz immediately reported the issue to Deepseek. This ensured exposure quickly. Still, the incident underscored the risk of data leakage.
Is it intentional or intentional?
Data leaks are a wide range of concepts that cover a wide range of scenarios. As IBM points out, the term generally refers to scenarios where “confidential information is unintentionally exposed to fraudulent parties.”
It may be intentional or unintentional. For example, on the intentional side, hackers can use phishing or social engineering techniques to manipulate employees in an organization to make their personal data public.
There is even a risk of insider threat. For example, workers with grems trying to compromise the system, perhaps for economic benefits or as part of their quest for revenge.
However, unintended leaks are just as big of a concern. This could be a simple case of human error. For example, you could send an email to the wrong person or provide too much information to third parties.
There is a wide range of general vectors. I’ll only do a few.
Incorrect cloud storage
Cloud misconceptions can be a common cause of data leaks. The Cloud Security Alliance highlights the dangers of simple mistakes, such as leaving default passwords in place or failing to properly configure access controls.
Endpoint Vulnerability
Data that is processed through hardware such as unencrypted laptops or stored on devices such as USB can become a critical vulnerability for leaks. It is important for employees to recognize and follow the organization’s security policies to mitigate this risk.
Email and messaging
There is a real risk that data can be intercepted. This can result from a simple error (sending sensitive attachments to the wrong address) or an intentional attack. Robust encryption is essential to staying in your right hand.
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Employees often use their IT as part of their daily working lives (such as external cloud technology), including data storage. This is generally not malicious, but can make risk management even more difficult, says the UK’s National Cybersecurity Centre (NCSC) “Because you don’t fully understand what you need to protect and what’s most important.”
Financial and legal issues
From weak access controls to lack of data classification policies, lack of monitoring and inadequate employee training, there are several common drivers for data leaks. However, regardless of the particular cause, the outcome can be devastating.
For example, regulators around the world are currently implementing strict data protection policies. This includes the EU’s General DAA Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).
There is also the broader risk of losing intellectual property (IP) or other sensitive corporate information. Crimes like credit card fraud can be attributed to leaks, but public companies can even see a decline in stock prices.
Perhaps most importantly, the inability to protect employee and customer data can have a devastating impact on the reputation of an organization that has long-term negative implications for the business.
Build your defense
So how can an organization protect itself, its employees and customers from the risk of data leakage? Here are some important approaches:
Enforce minimal access: By accessing only the data that users need to perform their work, the “explosion radius” of violations or leaks is significantly reduced.
Pursuing Data Loss Prevention (DLP): This is a wide range of solutions that combine technologies such as AI and anti-virus software with people and processes focused on technology and action, all aimed at preventing harm connected to data.
Classification of sensitive data: Protection starts with knowledge. Make sure you have a full understanding of the most risky data and see where you prioritize your security implementation.
Audit: Through both external audit checks and comprehensive internal audit programs, organizations can increase their chances of identifying potential vulnerabilities.
Training: Of course, without full employee engagement and understanding, technical solutions and operational enhancements cannot be successful. While proper training can speed up staff and other stakeholders, engagement can even generate new insights into vulnerability and mitigation technologies.
CompassDrp: Detects leaked data
As digital attacks grow, the risk of data leakage increases. Outpost24’s CompassDRP helps organizations manage this growing threat environment with critical modules focusing on data leaks.
This feature has many business-critical applications. These include:
Detect potentially leaked documents or sensitive data. Users often rely on fraudulent or misunderstood applications to share documents and sensitive data with customers and colleagues. The data leak feature is designed to detect such cases in many sources, including document repositories. Detect potentially leaked source code. Such leaks can reveal inside information to attackers, such as IP or authentication tokens in their code. Data leaks search the code repository to detect these leaks.
Organizations of all sizes are dealing with today’s growing data. This is a huge advantage and can help you gather insight into your business and customer base. However, as we have seen, it also poses risks.
By adopting technological innovation and operational enhancements, you can ensure that your organization realizes many of the benefits of this information without succumbing to the risks and costly consequences of data leakage. Book a CompassDrp live demo.
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