A Google software problem has inadvertently leaked the email addresses, names and phone numbers of 2,82,867 Google Apps domain owners who had chosen to keep the information private.
According to PCWorld, the breach involved a database "whois" that stores contact information for people who have bought domain names.
Craig Williams, senior technical leader for Cisco's Talos research group who discovered the issue, said that the data will make it easier for cyber thieves to draft phishing emails to convince victims into clicking on malicious links or divulging information.
Williams contacted Google after discovering the glitch and six days after that, the privacy settings were restored.