Over 150 government database servers normally hidden behind layers of security are now directly exposed to the Internet, leaving Americans’ data vulnerable to cyberattacks. The database vulnerabilities have been analyzed across Azure Government Cloud a platform used by at least 15 major federal agencies, including the Departments of Agriculture, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, and Veterans Affairs. A groundbreaking open-source investigation has revealed what experts describe as “one of history’s largest exposures of vulnerability to cyber attacks” affecting federal data systems. More concerning, these servers actively responded to connection attempts 655 times, indicating serious security gaps in systems designed to protect Americans’ most sensitive information. Cyber Security News is a Dedicated News Platform For Cyber News, Cyber Attack News, Hacking News & Vulnerability Analysis. The investigation, utilizing the public scanning platform Shodan.io, documented over 2,000 observations of exposed government database servers in early 2025. Security experts warn that foreign intelligence agencies likely already know about these vulnerabilities, given they were discovered using publicly available scanning tools. A remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability in Veeam Backup & Replication could allow any domain user to compromise backup servers with SYSTEM-level privileges. These exposures coincide with DOGE’s campaign to centralize sensitive data from across the government, raising serious questions about data protection protocols. PostgreSQL servers responding to external connections have increased fourfold over previous maximums, while open MySQL ports have jumped from a previous maximum of 3 to 43 per month, a fourteen-fold increase. Gurubaran is a co-founder of Cyber Security News and GBHackers On Security.
This Cyber News was published on cybersecuritynews.com. Publication date: Fri, 21 Mar 2025 13:05:20 +0000