Security Magazine logo
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Security Magazine logo
  • NEWS
    • Security Newswire
    • Technologies & Solutions
  • MANAGEMENT
    • Leadership Management
    • Enterprise Services
    • Security Education & Training
    • Logical Security
    • Security & Business Resilience
    • Profiles in Excellence
  • PHYSICAL
    • Access Management
    • Fire & Life Safety
    • Identity Management
    • Physical Security
    • Video Surveillance
    • Case Studies (Physical)
  • CYBER
    • Cybersecurity News
    • More
  • BLOG
  • COLUMNS
    • Cyber Tactics
    • Leadership & Management
    • Security Talk
    • Career Intelligence
    • Leader to Leader
    • Cybersecurity Education & Training
  • EXCLUSIVES
    • Annual Guarding Report
    • Most Influential People in Security
    • The Security Benchmark Report
    • The Security Leadership Issue
    • Top Guard and Security Officer Companies
    • Top Cybersecurity Leaders
    • Women in Security
  • SECTORS
    • Arenas / Stadiums / Leagues / Entertainment
    • Banking/Finance/Insurance
    • Construction, Real Estate, Property Management
    • Education: K-12
    • Education: University
    • Government: Federal, State and Local
    • Hospitality & Casinos
    • Hospitals & Medical Centers
    • Infrastructure:Electric,Gas & Water
    • Ports: Sea, Land, & Air
    • Retail/Restaurants/Convenience
    • Transportation/Logistics/Supply Chain/Distribution/ Warehousing
  • EVENTS
    • Industry Events
    • Webinars
    • Solutions by Sector
    • Security 500 Conference
  • MEDIA
    • Videos
      • Cybersecurity & Geopolitical Discussion
      • Ask Me Anything (AMA) Series
    • Podcasts
    • Polls
    • Photo Galleries
  • MORE
    • Call for Entries
    • Classifieds & Job Listings
    • Continuing Education
    • Newsletter
    • Sponsor Insights
    • Store
    • White Papers
  • EMAG
    • eMagazine
    • This Month's Content
    • Advertise
  • SIGN UP!
CybersecuritySecurity NewswireCybersecurity News

Genius, French Postal Service App, Exposes 23 Million Records

cybersecurity-blog
December 12, 2019

Genius, an Android app-based cash register built by French postal service La Poste, leaked more than 23 million records. 

Noam Rotem and Ran Locar, vpnMentor’s research team, found the database belonging to Genius, which integrates many different processes to help small business owners. According to the vpnMentor report, La Poste is the main postal service in France, majority-owned by the French government, and also operating in overseas territories traditionally linked with the country. It’s the second-largest employer in France. Their operations include insurance, banking, webmail hosting and many more services for private citizens. 

The company also offers services for small-to-medium businesses (SMBs) in France. Genius also assists SMBs with inventory management, data reporting and analytics, accounting and many more key processes. 

Upon identifying La Poste as the database’s owner, the research team reached out to them, their hosting company and The Commission nationale de l’informatique et des libertés (CNIL), France’s independent regulatory body for data privacy. The database was closed almost 3 weeks after the researcher's first contact with the French CNIL. 

According to the researchers, they found more than 15 GB of sensitive information, with 23 million records originating from SMBs across France, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, Spain and maybe more. Entries into the database were linked to payments made by customers via Genius, as well as other functions carried out on the app. Each entry contained different forms of data, depending on the action being taken by the user. These included Personally Identifiable Information (PII) data of both the Genius users and customers, along with PII about the businesses’ finances and operations. 

Examples of the user data viewable of the database included:

  • Full names, Email addresses, phone numbers, and Dates Of Birth, of people using the app.
  • City of business residence and zip codes of users.
  • Information about products sold (label, price, barcode, etc) and transactions made via Genius.
  • Information about sellers (name, email, phone number).
  • Bills sent to customers and suppliers
  • Business’ Stock inventory
  • Both the test and genuine values of products on Genius.
  • Email addresses of customers who received a bill via Genius.
  • Total values of the business’ transactions made via Genius.
  • Business’ Siret number (for French business registration)
  • Much more

The report says that some examples of the businesses exposed include:

  • Nilaï – A jewelry store in Paris
  • By164 – A jewelry store in Paris
  • Lovat&Green – A unisex fashion retailer based in Bilbao, Spain
  • Manta – A French gift store with shipping to numerous European countries
  • Louisette – A French family gift store
  • MHD Restauration – A small, independent restaurant

To learn more details about the data breach, visit vpnMentor.

KEYWORDS: cyber security cybersecurity data breach personally identifiable information (PII)

Share This Story

Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!

Recommended Content

JOIN TODAY
To unlock your recommendations.

Already have an account? Sign In

  • Security's Top Cybersecurity Leaders 2024

    Security's Top Cybersecurity Leaders 2024

    Security magazine's Top Cybersecurity Leaders 2024 award...
    Security Leadership and Management
    By: Security Staff
  • cyber brain

    The intersection of cybersecurity and artificial intelligence

    Artificial intelligence (AI) is a valuable cybersecurity...
    Security Leadership and Management
    By: Pam Nigro
  • artificial intelligence AI graphic

    Assessing the pros and cons of AI for cybersecurity

    Artificial intelligence (AI) has significant implications...
    New Security Technology
    By: Charles Denyer
Subscribe For Free!
  • Security eNewsletter & Other eNews Alerts
  • eMagazine Subscriptions
  • Manage My Preferences
  • Online Registration
  • Mobile App
  • Subscription Customer Service

More Videos

Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content is a special paid section where industry companies provide high quality, objective, non-commercial content around topics of interest to the Security audience. All Sponsored Content is supplied by the advertising company and any opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily reflect the views of Security or its parent company, BNP Media. Interested in participating in our Sponsored Content section? Contact your local rep!

close
  • Crisis Response Team
    Sponsored byEverbridge

    Automate or Fall Behind – Crisis Response at the Speed of Risk

  • Perimeter security
    Sponsored byAMAROK

    Why Property Security is the New Competitive Advantage

  • Duty of Care
    Sponsored byAMAROK

    Integrating Technology and Physical Security to Advance Duty of Care

Popular Stories

Internal computer parts

Critical Software Vulnerabilities Rose 37% in 2024

Coding

AI Emerges as the Top Concern for Security Leaders

Half open laptop

“Luigi Was Right”: A Look at the Website Sharing Data on More Than 1,000 Executives

Person working on laptop

Governance in the Age of Citizen Developers and AI

Shopping mall

Victoria’s Secret Security Incident Shuts Down Website

2025 Security Benchmark banner

Events

June 24, 2025

Inside a Modern GSOC: How Anthropic Benchmarks Risk Detection Tools for Speed and Accuracy

For today's security teams, making informed decisions in the first moments of a crisis is critical.

August 27, 2025

Risk Mitigation as a Competitive Edge

In today’s volatile environment, a robust risk management strategy isn’t just a requirement—it’s a foundation for organizational resilience. From cyber threats to climate disruptions, the ability to anticipate, withstand, and adapt to disruption is becoming a hallmark of industry leaders.

View All Submit An Event

Products

Security Culture: A How-to Guide for Improving Security Culture and Dealing with People Risk in Your Organisation

Security Culture: A How-to Guide for Improving Security Culture and Dealing with People Risk in Your Organisation

See More Products

Related Articles

  • Dispelling the Dangerous Myth of Data Breach Fatigue; cyber security news

    Data Breach Report: Kinomap, Exercise App, Exposes 42 Million User Records

    See More
  • data breach

    Unidentified Database Exposes Records of 200 Million Americans

    See More
  • fraud

    Data Breach Report: Popular Digital Wallet App Key Ring Exposes 14 Million Users

    See More

Related Products

See More Products
  • databasehacker

    The Database Hacker's Handboo

See More Products

Events

View AllSubmit An Event
  • March 6, 2025

    Why Mobile Device Response is Key to Managing Data Risk

    ON DEMAND: Most organizations and their associating operations have the response and investigation of computers, cloud resources, and other endpoint technologies under lock and key. 
View AllSubmit An Event
×

Sign-up to receive top management & result-driven techniques in the industry.

Join over 20,000+ industry leaders who receive our premium content.

SIGN UP TODAY!
  • RESOURCES
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • Store
    • Want More
  • SIGN UP TODAY
    • Create Account
    • eMagazine
    • eNewsletter
    • Customer Service
    • Manage Preferences
  • SERVICES
    • Marketing Services
    • Reprints
    • Market Research
    • List Rental
    • Survey/Respondent Access
  • STAY CONNECTED
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • X (Twitter)
  • PRIVACY
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • TERMS & CONDITIONS
    • DO NOT SELL MY PERSONAL INFORMATION
    • PRIVACY REQUEST
    • ACCESSIBILITY

Copyright ©2025. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing