A number of online shops are offering databases belonging to St. Petersburg web hosting operator Valuehost.ru. The databases, which reportedly come with the logins and passwords of 70,000 users, are being sold for $300. According to experts at InfoWatch, the databases could be fakes, but if they turn out to be genuine, the company needs to think seriously about combating insiders.
The databases of St. Petersburg web hosting operator Valuehost, including the logins and passwords for 101,000 sites, have gone on sale over the Internet, reports the news portal dp.ru. The company is currently carrying out an investigation, but competitors are already talking of the risks Valuehost’s clients could face if the databases turn out to be genuine.
The product, on offer at a range of online shops (www.plati.ru, www.zaplati.net and www.privet.in) has a straightforward name – “Valuehost.ru databases complete with logins and passwords”. Information about the distribution of the databases dates back to the end of September 2006. According to the sales pitch, the databases, which are disguised under the pseudonym Money-monster, can be bought for 8886 rubles (approximately $330) and give access to the logins and passwords of 101,000 sites (70,000 users). In other words, anyone buying the product can alter the content of a web site in any way they please.
The company Web Hosting, which uses the trade name Valuehost, told the press that they are currently carrying out their own investigation. A company representative was unable to say whether or not the databases were genuine.
“Of course, the databases need to be checked, because fraudsters often try to sell fakes. However, the very fact that the issue has arisen should be food for thought for the hosting company, especially regarding insiders,” says Denis Zenkin, marketing director at InfoWatch.
Source: dp.ru
