Crime
Police Warn Potential Tipsters About Alleged CrimeStoppers Data Breach
Some police departments are encouraging anonymous tipsters to use alternative methods after a reported data breach affecting tip-submission platforms including CrimeStoppers, Crimeline, and P3 Tips.
The nonprofit whistleblower site Distributed Denial of Secrets (DDoSecrets) released more than 90GB of data allegedly containing “millions of submissions and tips about alleged crimes and terrorist acts made over several decades.”
The data was sent to DDoSecrets by a hacktivist group calling themselves the INTERNET YIFF MACHINE. The breach allegedly shows that the anonymous tips may not be as anonymous as P3 leads users to believe.
The data leak, dubbed BlueLeaks 2.0, “comes from the apps and infrastructure of P3 (a subsidiary of Navigate360), which is used by intelligence and law enforcement agencies across the United States and in several other countries, as well as tens of thousands of schools,” according to DDoSecrets.
“While P3 says that the communications on the system are encrypted, however the data was allegedly retrieved in plaintext. P3 also claims that the tip collection and messaging process is anonymous, however the data indicates that administrators are secretly given the ability to de-anonymize users,” DDoSecrets said.
Some police departments have already begun urging tipsters to submit information through alternative means.
The Portland Police Bureau on Thursday said it is “aware of reports indicating that a third-party service used to collect anonymous Crime Stoppers tips for thousands of organizations may have experienced a data breach.” Police said the “validity and scope” of the breach were still under review, but urged the public to refrain from submitting tips through the CrimeStoppers platform “out of an abundance of caution.”
“Individuals wishing to provide non-anonymous information related to ongoing investigations are asked to submit tips directly via email to crimetips@police.portlandoregon.gov,” the bureau said.
