In recent news , millions of records containing personal information were made available to the public in a sizable data leak Attack.Databreach , providing potential scammers with plenty of information to utilize in their schemes . These records were all part of a 53 GB database that was available for purchase from Dun & Bradstreet , a business service firm . The database contained information that could be of great use to hackers and marketers alike , as it outlined corporate data for businesses within the United States , providing professional details and contact information for members at every level of the businesses included . Dun & Bradstreet released a statement via email in an attempt to remove the firm from any responsibility . According to the firm , there was no evidence of a breach Attack.Databreach on their systems . The email also pointed out that the leaked data was sold to “ thousands ” of other companies , and that the leaked data seemed to be six months old . In essence , Dun & Bradstreet ’ s position was “ not our fault. , ” and that there was little cause for worry , as the list only contained “ generally publicly available business contact data. ” However , not everyone feels that the responsibility for this event can be passed off so easily , especially considering the nature of the data found on the database . Troy Hunt manages Have I Been Pwned , a data leak Attack.Databreach alert site that allows a user to reference one of their accounts to determine if their credentials have been compromised Attack.Databreach . He offered up his own take after reviewing the database for himself . Hunt ’ s analysis revealed that the organizations with the most records in the database were : The United States Department Of Defense : 101,013 The United States Postal Service : 88,153 AT & T Inc. : 67,382 Wal-Mart Stores , Inc. : 55,421 CVS Health Corporation : 40,739 The Ohio State University : 38,705 Citigroup Inc. : 35,292 Wells Fargo Bank , National Association : 34,928 Kaiser Foundation Hospitals : 34,805 International Business Machines Corporation : 33,412 If this list alarms you , you have the right idea . In his comments , Hunt brought up a few concerns that he had with the contents of the database out in public . First of all , this list is essentially a guidebook for someone running a phishing campaign Attack.Phishing . A resourceful scammer could easily use the information contained in this list ( including names , titles , and contact information ) to create a very convincing and effective campaign . Furthermore , the most common records in the leaked database were those of government officials and employees . Hunt went so far as to mention which personnel records could be found in the database for the Department of Defense : while “ Soldier ” was the most common , the list also included “ Chemical Engineer ” and “ Intelligence Analyst ” entries . In his response , Hunt asked a very important question : `` How would the U.S. military feel about this data - complete with PII [ personally identifiable information ] and job title - being circulated ? '' With the very real threat of state-sponsored hacking and other international cyber threats in mind , Hunt brought up the value this list would have to a foreign power that isn ’ t fond of the U.S . Finally , Hunt cited the chances of this data being recovered to be at a firm “ zero ” percent . In short , despite the reassurances from Dun & Bradstreet , this database going public could present some very real dangers to any businesses included in it .