South African users were among those most affected by the data leak earlier this month the affected a total of 533-million users around the world.
Privacy protection company Surfshark has examined 2 837 793 637 data points that were leaked online on 3 April, and its analysis shows the South Africa was among the most affected countries, with 14 323 766 local profiles compromised.
Overall, the leak produced 2 837 793 637 data points – meaning that the hackers, on average, exposed five types of data per user. “This includes their phone numbers, Facebook IDs, full names, locations, birthdates, bios, and — in some cases — email addresses,” says Vytautas Kaziukonis, CEO of Surfshark.
Altogether, 11 types of data points were exposed, with specifics varying from user to user. A comparatively small 4,76% of the profiles had their email addresses exposed – but 89,01% of affected users had their phone numbers leaked.
The data set also allows matching names and phone numbers with additional data like location (60,58%) and employer name (18,30%) that helps to both choose the targets (especially for spear-phishing attempts targeting specific companies) or to make hacking attacks more believable.