English learning app used by Sony and Paramount put millions of users at risk

Date:
Fri, 27 Mar 2026 14:20:00 +0000

Description:
Five million Japanese have had their recordings leak to the internet through
a misconfigured Google Cloud database.

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now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Join the club Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards. Explore An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter Cybernews finds Abceed app exposed 46M files via misconfigured Google Cloud bucket Leak includes 10TB of private audio recordings from 5M users practicing English Researchers warn voice data could fuel vishing, voice cloning, and scams like virtual kidnapping An English learning app popular in Japan has reportedly exposed sensitive data on millions of people, putting them at risk of identity theft, impersonation,
and other forms of fraud.

Security researchers at Cybernews recently discovered a misconfigured Google Cloud Storage bucket with more than 46 million files, most of which were private audio recordings of users practicing their English skills through the 'Abceed' app. With a user base of around five million, Abceed is a well-known and popular app, partnering with the likes of Paramount, Sony Pictures Entertainment, TMS Entertainment, and a major textbook publisher called Sanseido. It is also allegedly endorsed by schools and major corporations, making it the go-to app for learning English in the country. Article
continues below You may like Top Android AI photo and video editor exposes nearly two million user images and videos Top photo ID apps leak user data - over 150,000 thought to have been affected Shock report claims Android apps have leaked over 730TB of user data and Google secrets - here are some of the worst offenders around Why voice files are important The exposed database contained nearly 10TB of user data - mostly people practicing English and pronouncing different words. While this doesnt sound like much of a breach, Cybernews notes this could be a goldmine for cybercriminals:

Malicious actors could abuse a dataset of leaked recordings to craft phishing campaigns. They can use voice cloning technologies together with vishing, mimicking the voices of coworkers, friends, or family members, the research team said. It can also be used to create personas where ethnicity and inexperience in speaking English may become a convincing factor for sextortion, or pig butchering scams.

The technique might be a novelty, but weve already seen it in action.
Security researchers already coined the term virtual kidnapping, and weve
seen reports of people paying ransom demands after thinking their children
got abducted.

One way to defend against these attacks is to create a safe phrase - a password only your closest family members know. That way, when someone claims to have abducted your significant other, if they dont know the safe phrase, you can be safe knowing its just a scam. Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed! Contact me
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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/english-learning-app-used-by-sony-and-p aramount-put-millions-of-users-at-risk


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