Reverse-Lookup Face Recognition Database Exposes Millions of Scraped Profiles

Cybersecurity analysts discovered an open Elasticsearch database operated by a facial search service, exposing tens of millions of scraped facial images and high-dimensional biometric vectors without password protection or encryption.

The database allowed anyone to query scraped social media URLs, location metadata, and facial comparison weights. Security experts warn that such leaks drastically lower the barrier for bad actors seeking to conduct automated physical tracking and impersonation fraud.

Following disclosure, the database was taken offline, but digital rights advocacy organizations are pushing for legal sanctions against unauthorized web facial scraping.