About Leaks of Confidential Data in the Process of Indexing Sites by Search Crawlers

Abstract

The large number of sites for very different purposes (online stores, ticketing systems, hotel reservations, etc.) collect and store personal information of their users, as well as other confidential data, such as history and results of user interaction with these sites. Some of such data, not intended for open access, nevertheless falls into the search output and may be available to unauthorized persons when specific requests are made. This article describes the reasons for such incidents occurrence and the basic recommendations for technical specialists (developers and administrators) that will help prevent leaks.