CSR&RSA_ACT1: Deep Roots Analytics Proff.pdf

PROFESSIONAL ISSUES IN ETHICS

1. RANCHE, CHRISTINA S.
ANDRES, ROSE ANN S.
BSIS 2A (A0185)

2. 01
CONTENT
DISCOVERY
DATA THEFT
PERPETRATORS:
MOTIVES
WARNINGS
RESPONSIBILITY
INVESTIGATION
REACTIONS
REFERENCES

3. In June 2017, a massive data breach involving Deep Root
Analytics, a contractor hired by the Republican National
Committee (RNC), was discovered. The breach exposed
personal information on nearly 198 million American voters,
making it one of the largest known data breaches in history.
The exposed data was discovered by Chris Vickery, a
security researcher at the cyber risk company UpGuard,
who found the information stored on an Amazon Web
Services (AWS) S3 server that was not properly secured.
The data was left publicly accessible for an unknown period
before it was discovered.
DISCOVERY
02

4. 03
DATA THEFT
The breach involved a massive cache of
data, totaling around 1.1 terabytes,
which included detailed information on
198 million American voters. This data
included personal information such as
names, dates of birth, home addresses,
phone numbers, and political views. The
information was compiled from a variety
of sources, including social media,
voting records, and consumer data, to
build detailed voter profiles.

5. 04
The data breach involving Deep Root Analytics and the Republican
National Committee (RNC) was not the result of an attack by external
hackers but rather due to a security lapse by Deep Root Analytics, a
data firm contracted by the RNC.
There were no specific perpetrators who intentionally caused the
breach; it was instead an oversight in securing the data.
PERPETRATORS:
MOTIVES
Since the data breach was due to negligence rather than a deliberate
attack, there was no explicit malicious motive behind it. However, the
motive behind compiling such a large database was to use voter data
to better target political campaigns. Deep Root Analytics and other
firms involved in political data analytics gather vast amounts of
information on voters to create detailed profiles that can be used for
micro-targeting in elections.
PERPETRATORS
MOTIVE

6. 05
Prior to the 2017 Deep Root Analytics data
breach, several detailed warnings were issued
by cybersecurity experts, privacy advocates,
and even governmental agencies regarding
the vulnerabilities associated with storing
sensitive data online, particularly in cloud
servers. Despite these warnings, the data was
not properly secured by Deep Root Analytics,
leading to the breach.
WARNINGS

7. RESPONSIBILITY
06
Deep Root Analytics, the company
contracted by the RNC, was ultimately
responsible for the breach. The
company's failure to secure the data led to
the exposure of the personal information
of nearly 198 million voters. While the
RNC itself did not directly manage the
data, the incident raised questions about
the security practices of its contractors
and the broader issue of data security in
political campaigns.

8. 07
INVESTIGATIONS
Following the discovery of the breach, Deep Root
Analytics took the server offline and launched an
internal investigation. The company also notified the
RNC and began working with cybersecurity experts
to understand the scope of the breach and assess
any potential damage. There were no immediate
reports of the data being exploited, but the
investigation highlighted the risks of mishandling
voter data.

9. 08
The breach triggered widespread concern and criticism,
particularly regarding the security practices of political
organizations and their contractors. Privacy advocates and
cybersecurity experts expressed alarm at the scale of the
breach and the potential consequences of such sensitive
information being exposed. The incident prompted calls for
stronger data protection measures and more stringent
oversight of how political campaigns handle voter
information.
REACTIONS

10. REFERENCES
09
https://www.washingtonpost.co
m/news/the-
switch/wp/2017/06/19/198-
million-american-voter-
records-leaked-online-heres-
what-you-need-to-know/
The Washington
Post article on the
RNC Data Breach
https://www.theguardian.com
/technology/2017/jun/19/repu
blican-data-firm-exposes-
198-million-us-voter-records-
security
The Guardian report
on Deep Root
Analytics data breach
https://www.upguard.co
m/breaches/the-rnc-files
UpGuard's
analysis of the
breach