Exactis LLC is a

data broker A data broker is an individual or company that specializes in collecting personal data (such as income, ethnicity, political beliefs, or geolocation data) or data about companies, mostly from public records but sometimes sourced privately, and ...

established in 2015 and based in the U.S state of

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...

. The firm reportedly handles business and consumer data in an effort to refine

targeted advertising Targeted advertising is a form of advertising, including online advertising, that is directed towards an audience with certain traits, based on the product or person the advertiser is promoting. These traits can either be demographic with a focus ...

Data leak

Exactis became notable in June 2018, after a discovery by cybersecurity researcher

Vinny Troia Vincenzo Troia is an American ethical hacker and cybersecurity researcher who is known for reporting and identifying the Dark Overlord (hacker group) and hacker PomPompurin, who was involved in the 2021 FBI email hacking. He is also known for d ...

detailed how the organization made nearly 340 million detailed records about individual people available on a publicly accessible

server Server may refer to: Computing *Server (computing), a computer program or a device that provides functionality for other programs or devices, called clients Role * Waiting staff, those who work at a restaurant or a bar attending customers and su ...

, leaving those people at heightened risk of being impersonated, profiled or otherwise exploited through social engineering. The information has reportedly since been protected and removed from the public. However, the leak is notable due to the breach of data that was exposed, surpassing the

Equifax breach Equifax Inc. is an American multinational consumer credit reporting agency headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia and is one of the three largest consumer credit reporting agencies, along with Experian and TransUnion (together known as the "Big Thre ...

which had exposed 145 million customers' personal data the year prior. Exactis had reportedly accumulated some or all of its information without the knowledge or explicit consent of the data subjects.

References

{{Florida-stub Companies based in Florida Data brokers 2015 establishments in Florida