Data Technology Company LocalBlox Announces Strict Data Security Processes and Controls

Data aggregator LocalBlox is tightening its security measures following the recent leak of data profiles that were temporarily left in an Amazon S3 bucket without an optimal security setting. The company takes full responsibility for the situation and assures the mistake will never happen again.

Data technology company LocalBlox Inc. announced today that it is implementing a number of security measures in response to the recent leak of millions of data profiles left exposed on an Amazon Web Server S3 Storage.

The data, obtained from social media sites and other sources, was inadvertently left unsecure in an AWS S3 storage bucket that was not password-protected, according to company officials at LocalBlox. The S3 bucket primarily contained fake data produced from customer intelligence records duplicated for internal testing purposes. Also this data is unusable without a schema or detailed documentation. However, the data—which had been accessed only by known internal users and the security researcher who discovered it through extensive efforts—was never “publicly” exposed. Fuzzying techniques and special tools were used to get to the file. Once it became aware of the situation, LocalBlox resolved the matter within a few hours. “Our logs prove that no other individual accessed this file from the S3 bucket,” said Ashfaq Rahman, Founder and CTO of LocalBlox. “We believe there is almost no danger that anyone else was able to access the file without our knowledge.”

The company assumes full accountability for the oversight and is committed to doing everything it can to address the issue. “We apologize for this unfortunate situation and take responsibility for the mistake,” Rahman said. “We have added additional policies and controls to our processes to ensure that this does not happen again.”    

Data breaches are an expanding problem that has impacted major corporations, government agencies and other entities worldwide. Consequently, digital security is a serious concern for consumers and businesses, particularly data technology companies like LocalBlox. The company has adopted a number of steps to ensure its data is employed and maintained as securely as possible. For example, LocalBlox:

·        stores all of its files in multiple database environments that run 24/7 backups and has anonymous data for use

·        stores individual records with PII (personally identifiable information) independently and matches specific jobs by its internal UID (user ID) processes

·        has ensured that all machines that can access its data servers and data stores are from a set of white-listed IP addresses and have are strict firewall policies in place

·        makes sure all data transfers happen in a SSH (secure shell) environment or through AWS buckets with the most stringent security settings possible.

·        has deployed its proven endpoint agent to capture and record all system, user and data events on or off the network. (The agent is also configured to automatically block suspicious insider activity or outsider attacks—before sensitive data is lost.) 

Data mining is not a new practice. Data technology companies have been scraping public records for decades to gain valuable customer intelligence for business, marketing and other purposes. Public profiles on social media platforms represent a virtual gold mine for data aggregators, who use this information in various ways. Rahman emphasizes that LocalBlox’s methods of accessing and utilizing data are completely valid and ethical. The company acquires all of its data using privacy-compliant techniques or from the public domain and other non-proprietary sources. And it has never engaged in any illegal or unethical activities with its web mining processes. 

LocalBlox does not license a straightforward copy of any particular content but rather generates transformative, machine readable and cross-validated facts. Clients of LocalBlox can use its data and platform for a variety of legitimate and constructive reasons, ranging from creating next-generation personalized and relevant consumer experiences to promoting life-saving emergency services. “Its use is strictly regulated to serve the greater good of mankind,” he said.

LocalBlox Data Aggregation and Identity Graph technology has been around since 2015 founded by Rahman and his wife, Sabira Arefin, who currently serves as president. The small, family-owned business has worked diligently to distinguish itself as a trusted data management and technology firm that is honest, goal-oriented and committed to its clients. Today, the data technology company is privileged to fill a unique niche in the marketplace. It is currently the only platform that has invented technology that can acquire, scale and correlate diverse, conventional, non-traditional data points and social sentiments mapped into real identities of people and businesses. In addition, LocalBlox is the first company whose platform can launch globally. 

LocalBlox’s technology effectively leverages machine learning and human insight. Its next-generation Data Discovery and Creation platform continuously learns to create the most accurate, complete and freshest people and business data in real-time and at scale. “LocalBlox helps companies acquire and utilize a vast amount of information from sources previously held captive on the web with exceptional speed and scale while also marrying other offline datasets,” Rahman said.

For more information about LocalBlox and its comprehensive identity graph platform, please visit http://www.localblox.com.

About LocalBlox Inc.

Based in Bellevue, Wash., LocalBlox is a data technology company that uses a proprietary approach for acquiring and utilizing data. The LocalBlox platform automatically crawls, discovers, extracts, indexes, maps and augments data in a variety of formats from the web and from exchange networks, adding crowd-sourced verification as needed.

LocalBlox generates unique derivative data products by combining information identified through its discovery and creation platform with data assets provided by its publishing, ad exchange and crowd sourcing partnerships. The platform facilitates the creation of normalized rich profiles around business firmographics, people data, usage patterns and behavior trends. It can power B2B, B2C customer intelligence, customer retention and relationship management, sales and marketing campaigns, location-based services, search and mapping portals, demographic targeting, sales lead generation, programmatic advertising and personalization for a wide range of industries. 

LocalBlox has a global footprint that encompasses the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa with the ability to launch new countries quickly.