The leak of 32 million data from The Epoch Times into the public domain has been announced.

Cybersecurity team SafetyDetectives discovered an offer from an attacker on a public forum to sell a database of 32 million records, likely belonging to media company The Epoch Times. The leak contains personal information of subscribers from around the world.

The data was posted on a public forum where leaks and databases are shared. The author of the post provided a sample in the form of .txt files with over a thousand records. They include names, addresses, emails, IP addresses, subscription types, device operating systems, and geolocation. Although the sample does not include bank card numbers, the amount of information still poses a threat, as it could be used for phishing, social engineering, or targeted fraud.

The Epoch Times is an international media outlet that was founded in 2000 as a response to censorship in China. It is known for its criticism of the Chinese government. The leak comes shortly after the U.S. indicted 12 Chinese hackers, eight of whom worked for i-Soon, a company that allegedly orchestrated large-scale cyberattacks on government agencies around the world, including The Epoch Times.

Even a partial leak that doesn’t include financial information poses a serious threat to users: phishing, manipulation, and data spoofing can be carried out using stolen personal information. Experts advise users to monitor their account activity, change their passwords, and pay close attention to any suspicious activity.