Automated information and data leaks

Security teams often face the challenge of data leaks and information disclosure, particularly when employees inadvertently commit sensitive data to public platforms like Trello or GitHub. A significant, yet less recognized, source of data leaks occurs when security teams use "sandboxes" to analyze potentially malicious URLs and files. These sandboxes, designed to automate threat detection, often make analysis results publicly searchable, inadvertently exposing sensitive information submitted by users. Issues arise when legitimate URLs or files leading to sensitive data are submitted, potentially making confidential information accessible. The text highlights examples of such leaks, including corporate email addresses and password reset links found in sandboxed URLs, and documents from file-sharing and electronic signature services. While sandboxes are valuable for quick threat analysis and understanding attack patterns, the unintentional exposure of sensitive data poses a risk. To mitigate these risks, security teams are advised to use sandbox features that prevent public storage of results, replace sensitive information with placeholders before submission, and proactively manage sensitive content that has been exposed.