According to Alexa traffic rankings , amateur. The database, containing months-worth of daily logs of the site activities, was left without a password for weeks. Those logs included detailed records of when users logged in — including usernames and sometimes their user-agents and IP addresses, which can be used to identify users.
The logs even included failed login attempts, storing usernames and passwords in plaintext. We did not test the credentials as doing so would be unlawful. The exposed data also revealed which videos users were watching and renting, exposing kinks and private sexual preferences.
In all, the logs were detailed enough to see which users were logging in, from where, and often their email addresses or other identifiable information — which in some cases we could match to real-world identities. Researchers at Condition:Black, a cybersecurity and internet freedom firm, discovered the exposed database. Data exposures — where companies inadvertently leave their own systems open for anyone to access — have become increasingly common in recent years.
Dating sites are among those with some of the most sensitive data. These security lapses can be extremely damaging to their users, exposing private sexual encounters and preferences known only to the users themselves. The fallout following the hack of affair-focused site Ashley Madison resulted in families breaking up and several reports of suicides connected to the breach.
An email to VTS Media bounced over the weekend. Hector Ros Oliver, a spokesperson for the company, made several denials in a statement published Monday. A spokesperson for the Spanish data protection authority AEPD did not respond to a request for comment outside business hours. Got a tip? Google quietly announces its next flagship AI model Kyle Wiggers. TechCrunch's AI experts cover the latest news in the fast-moving field. Every Monday, gets you up to speed on the latest advances in aerospace.
