In January 2025, Chinese AI specialist DeepSeek suffered a critical data leak exposing over 1 million sensitive log streams, including chat histories, secret keys, and internal operational data. The breach stemmed from a publicly accessible ClickHouse database with misconfigured access controls, granting unauthorized parties full administrative privileges enabling potential data exfiltration, manipulation, or deletion. While Wiz Research promptly alerted DeepSeek, which secured the exposure, the incident highlighted vulnerabilities in cloud storage misconfigurations and endpoint security. The leaked data posed risks of intellectual property theft, credential compromise, and regulatory non-compliance (e.g., GDPR/CCPA fines). Given the scale and sensitivity of the exposed logs likely containing proprietary AI model interactions and authentication tokens the breach could undermine customer trust, competitive advantage, and operational integrity, with potential downstream effects like fraud, reputational damage, or supply chain attacks. The root cause aligned with unintentional leakage via misconfigured infrastructure, though insider threats or targeted exploitation remained plausible secondary risks.
Source: https://thehackernews.com/2025/09/detecting-data-leaks-before-disaster.html
TPRM report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/deepseek-ai
"id": "dee456090325",
"linkid": "deepseek-ai",
"type": "Breach",
"date": "1/2025",
"severity": "85",
"impact": "4",
"explanation": "Attack with significant impact with customers data leaks"{'affected_entities': [{'industry': 'Artificial Intelligence',
'location': 'China',
'name': 'DeepSeek',
'type': 'Private Company'}],
'attack_vector': ['Misconfigured Cloud Storage (Publicly Accessible '
'ClickHouse Database)',
'Potential Insider Threats (Unconfirmed)',
'Potential Phishing/Social Engineering (Unconfirmed)'],
'data_breach': {'data_encryption': 'No (Data Was Publicly Accessible)',
'file_types_exposed': ['Log Files',
'Potential Configuration Files'],
'number_of_records_exposed': '1,000,000+',
'sensitivity_of_data': 'High (Includes Authentication '
'Credentials and Internal '
'Communications)',
'type_of_data_compromised': ['Log Streams',
'Chat History',
'Secret Keys']},
'date_detected': 'January 2025',
'date_publicly_disclosed': 'January 2025',
'description': 'In January 2025, Wiz Research discovered that Chinese AI '
'specialist DeepSeek had suffered a data leak exposing over 1 '
'million sensitive log streams. The leak stemmed from a '
'publicly accessible ClickHouse database, allowing full '
'control over database operations, including access to '
'internal data such as chat history and secret keys. Wiz '
'Research reported the issue to DeepSeek, which promptly '
'secured the exposure. The incident highlighted risks '
'associated with data leakage, whether intentional (e.g., '
'insider threats, phishing) or unintentional (e.g., '
'misconfigurations, human error). Potential consequences '
'included regulatory fines (e.g., GDPR, CCPA), intellectual '
'property loss, reputational damage, and financial harm like '
'credit card fraud or share price declines.',
'impact': {'brand_reputation_impact': 'Potential Long-Term Damage '
'(Unquantified)',
'data_compromised': ['Chat History',
'Secret Keys',
'Log Streams (1M+ records)'],
'identity_theft_risk': 'High (Exposure of Secret Keys)',
'legal_liabilities': ['Potential GDPR Fines (EU)',
'Potential CCPA Fines (California)'],
'operational_impact': 'High (Exposure of Sensitive Internal Data)',
'payment_information_risk': 'Potential (If Secret Keys Included '
'Payment-Related Credentials)',
'systems_affected': ['ClickHouse Database']},
'investigation_status': 'Resolved (Database Secured)',
'lessons_learned': ['Importance of Least-Privilege Access Controls',
'Need for Regular Audits of Cloud Configurations',
'Risks of Publicly Accessible Databases',
'Value of Third-Party Security Research (e.g., Wiz '
'Research)',
'Criticality of Data Classification and DLP Solutions'],
'post_incident_analysis': {'corrective_actions': ['Secured the Database',
'Likely Reviewed Access '
'Controls (Assumed)',
'Potential Implementation '
'of DLP or Monitoring Tools '
'(Assumed)'],
'root_causes': ['Misconfigured ClickHouse Database '
'(Publicly Accessible)',
'Inadequate Access Controls',
'Lack of Monitoring for '
'Unauthorized Access']},
'recommendations': ['Enforce Least-Privilege Access Policies',
'Implement Data Loss Prevention (DLP) Solutions',
'Classify Sensitive Data and Prioritize Protection',
'Conduct Regular Internal/External Security Audits',
'Provide Comprehensive Employee Security Training',
'Monitor for Shadow IT and Unauthorized Data Sharing',
'Use Tools Like Outpost24’s CompassDRP for Leak '
'Detection'],
'references': [{'source': 'Wiz Research'},
{'source': 'IBM (Data Leakage Definition)'},
{'source': 'Cloud Security Alliance (Cloud Misconfigurations)'},
{'source': 'UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) - Shadow '
'IT Risks'},
{'source': 'Outpost24 CompassDRP (Data Leakage Detection)'}],
'regulatory_compliance': {'regulations_violated': ['Potential GDPR (EU)',
'Potential CCPA '
'(California)']},
'response': {'containment_measures': ['Securing the Publicly Accessible '
'Database'],
'incident_response_plan_activated': 'Yes (Prompt Securing of '
'Database by DeepSeek)',
'third_party_assistance': 'Yes (Wiz Research Reported the '
'Issue)'},
'title': 'DeepSeek Data Leak via Publicly Accessible ClickHouse Database',
'type': 'Data Leak',
'vulnerability_exploited': 'Improper Access Controls (Publicly Accessible '
'Database)'}