Firebase

Firebase ‎is‏ ‎a ‎platform ‎that ‎requires ‎developers‏ ‎to ‎secure‏ ‎individual‏ ‎tables ‎and ‎rows.‏ ‎However, ‎it‏ ‎appears ‎that ‎developers ‎either‏ ‎lacked‏ ‎the ‎necessary‏ ‎security ‎training‏ ‎or ‎did ‎not ‎allocate ‎sufficient‏ ‎time‏ ‎in ‎the‏ ‎development ‎lifecycle‏ ‎to ‎apply ‎the ‎correct ‎security‏ ‎controls

Causes‏ ‎of‏ ‎the ‎Firebase‏ ‎Misconfigurations

The ‎misconfigurations‏ ‎of ‎Firebase‏ ‎instances‏ ‎that ‎led‏ ‎to ‎the ‎exposure ‎of ‎19‏ ‎million ‎plaintext‏ ‎passwords‏ ‎and ‎sensitive ‎user‏ ‎data ‎were‏ ‎primarily ‎due ‎to ‎two‏ ‎factors:

📌Lack‏ ‎of ‎Security‏ ‎Rules: Some ‎Firebase‏ ‎instances ‎had ‎no ‎security ‎rules‏ ‎enabled,‏ ‎which ‎should‏ ‎act ‎as‏ ‎a ‎first ‎line ‎of ‎defense‏ ‎against‏ ‎unauthorized‏ ‎access.

📌Incorrect ‎Setup: In‏ ‎other ‎cases,‏ ‎security ‎rules‏ ‎were‏ ‎set ‎up‏ ‎incorrectly. ‎This ‎improper ‎configuration ‎allowed‏ ‎for ‎the‏ ‎public‏ ‎exposure ‎of ‎data‏ ‎that ‎should‏ ‎have ‎been ‎private.

Affected ‎Industries

The‏ ‎misconfigured‏ ‎Firebase ‎instances‏ ‎affected ‎a‏ ‎broad ‎range ‎of ‎industries, ‎including:

📌Retail‏ ‎and‏ ‎Hospitality: Fast ‎food‏ ‎chains ‎and‏ ‎other ‎retail ‎businesses ‎were ‎among‏ ‎those‏ ‎affected,‏ ‎with ‎instances‏ ‎such ‎as‏ ‎Chattr’s ‎Firebase‏ ‎implementation‏ ‎exposing ‎user‏ ‎data.

📌Healthcare: Healthcare ‎applications ‎were ‎found ‎to‏ ‎have ‎exposed‏ ‎personal‏ ‎family ‎photos ‎and‏ ‎token ‎IDs.

📌E-commerce: E-commerce‏ ‎platforms ‎leaked ‎data ‎from‏ ‎cryptocurrency‏ ‎exchange ‎platforms.

Education:‏ ‎A ‎learning‏ ‎management ‎system ‎for ‎teachers ‎and‏ ‎students‏ ‎exposed ‎records‏ ‎of ‎27‏ ‎million ‎users.

📌Technology ‎and ‎App ‎Development: The‏ ‎very‏ ‎nature‏ ‎of ‎Firebase‏ ‎as ‎a‏ ‎development ‎platform‏ ‎means‏ ‎that ‎a‏ ‎wide ‎array ‎of ‎mobile ‎and‏ ‎web ‎applications‏ ‎across‏ ‎various ‎sectors ‎were‏ ‎impacted.