PBS

PBS, the iconic US television network, experienced a data leak affecting nearly 4,000 employees and affiliates. The leaked database, shared on Discord, contained sensitive corporate contact information, including names, emails, titles, departments, locations, job functions, hobbies, and supervisor details. The breach was not driven by financial motives but rather by curiosity and a desire to appear 'cool' among peer groups. Despite the lack of malicious intent, the exposed data poses risks of phishing attacks, scams, and fraud. PBS confirmed the leak's authenticity and has warned affected individuals about potential abuse.

Source: https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/pbs-reveals-data-breach-after-company-info-leaked-on-discord

TPRM report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/pbs

"id": "pbs255080925",
"linkid": "pbs",
"type": "Breach",
"date": "8/2025",
"severity": "60",
"impact": "3",
"explanation": "Attack with significant impact with internal employee data leaks"

{'affected_entities': [{'customers_affected': 'Almost 4,000 employees and '
                                              'affiliates',
                        'industry': 'Media',
                        'location': 'United States',
                        'name': 'PBS (Public Broadcasting Service)',
                        'type': 'Non-profit, public television network'}],
 'attack_vector': 'Discord',
 'data_breach': {'data_exfiltration': 'Yes',
                 'file_types_exposed': 'JSON',
                 'number_of_records_exposed': 'Almost 4,000',
                 'personally_identifiable_information': 'Yes',
                 'sensitivity_of_data': 'Moderate to High',
                 'type_of_data_compromised': 'Employee names, corporate '
                                             'emails, titles, timezones, '
                                             'departments, locations, job '
                                             'functions, hobbies, supervisor '
                                             'names'},
 'description': 'PBS confirms a data leak affecting almost 4,000 people. A '
                'database containing PBS corporate contact information was '
                "shared on Discord, apparently to act 'cool'. The potential "
                'for abuse exists, so users should beware.',
 'impact': {'brand_reputation_impact': 'Potential for abuse in phishing '
                                       'attacks',
            'data_compromised': 'Employee names, corporate emails, titles, '
                                'timezones, departments, locations, job '
                                'functions, hobbies, supervisor names',
            'identity_theft_risk': 'High'},
 'initial_access_broker': {'data_sold_on_dark_web': 'No'},
 'motivation': 'Rebellious curiosity, novelty, notoriety within peer groups, '
               "'cool factor'",
 'references': [{'source': 'BleepingComputer'}],
 'response': {'communication_strategy': 'Warned affected individuals',
              'incident_response_plan_activated': 'Yes',
              'remediation_measures': 'Reached out to affected individuals to '
                                      'warn about potential attacks, scams, '
                                      'and fraud'},
 'threat_actor': 'Young adults, teenagers, and kids',
 'title': 'PBS Data Leak',
 'type': 'Data Leak'}