Brazil’s Pix: New key leaks may occur in the future, expert warns

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – New Pix key leaks may occur in the future, and any such case involving data is worrisome, alerts technology and digital security expert Arthur Igreja.

Igreja pointed to the leak of 160,000 Pix keys from a financial institution in early December, which was only revealed by the Central Bank yesterday.

The leaked data include name, CPF (Natural Persons Register), bank, branch and account numbers.

In August 2021, over 400,000 keys were leaked from a bank in Pernambuco. So far there is no information about lawsuits or penalties.

Igreja pointed out that every such case is worrisome, and that, unlike what the Central Bank reported, the December event is serious and far-reaching.

“Every data leak is very worrisome. Although no confidential data may have been accessed, they work through social engineering,” he said.

The expert explains that this “social engineering” is used in scams. In this case, someone who had their data leaked may receive a phone call pretending to update their registration. By having data that is not commonly available, people may fall for scams more easily.

Thus, he says that learning from mistakes is necessary, and the sharing of new security tools among institutions is also crucial.

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