Data Recovery Digest

When we register and host a website through a domain registrar, that typically comes with the expectation that we'll receive a basic amount of security when it comes to storing our website data on their servers. Although the most popular registrars tend to have a pretty good record when it comes to the storage of customer website data, the registrar known as 123-reg has recently faced scrutiny over an erroneous mass deletion of user data.

Mass Deletion of User Data

That error was spread out amongst a total of 67 different servers owned by 123-reg, out of a total 115,000. It is unclear exactly how many user accounts were affected or how many websites were accidentally deleted. However, many are reporting that their sites have still not been restored as of two weeks after the event. The original mishap occurred in early April 2016.

A representative with 123-reg recently explained their current situation in an online by saying: "We are working with expert partners to analyse how the fault occurred and to restore data. To date, 39% of the VPSs affected are now back online. Unfortunately, there have been a small number of incidences where we may not be able to restore a customer’s data. We will continue work to do so and we are in contact with every affected customer to keep them informed on the situation."

In order to quell some of their customers' concerns and ease the burden of losing their websites, 123-reg is offering those affected by the mishap a free six months of service. However, as is evident by some of the posts on the popular social media channels, many of 123-reg's current customers aren't satisfied.

New Security Issues

As if the erroneous deletion of some of their users' websites, 123-reg also faced security issues while attempting to rectify the situation. According to a recent post, users of 123-reg were briefly able to see the support ticket information of other clients. However, representatives with the company insist that no personal or sensitive information was ever accessible or compromised.

In an attempt to address the problem, the team with 123-reg issued a statement reading, in part: "We have put technical measures in place to ensure this does not happen again. Our customer support teams are also invoking additional security measures when dealing with customer information. We are confident that no sensitive data was accessed nor that there is any risk to our customers information."

Despite their insistence, current customers of 123-reg claim that this was not the case. According to online reports, customers were able to access sensitive information such as full names, IP addresses and even some amount of billing information.

Recovering the Lost Websites

While the IT team at 123-reg is still hard at work in their attempt to recover and restore the lost websites of their customers, some are simply out of luck. In some cases, individual customers have received notification stating that their website is completely unrecoverable, barring a personal backup by the customers themselves.