n. The accidental transmission or display of private online data to a third-party.
2001
Unintentional disclosures of personal information, called 'data spills,' can occur when visitors click on a link to an external site. Browsers automatically notify the new site of the URL (internet address) from which the user has just come, possibly disclosing private information. For example, the URL could contain a name or e-mail address, or it could communicate confidential information about personal interests (e.g., www.medicalsite.com/baldness).
2000 (earliest)
The incident occurred on Tuesday when a page containing private information, including names, home and e-mail addresses, and phone numbers was displayed at http://www.adiamondisforever.com after a San Francisco area user hunted for his name on the site's search engine and received a whole database in return.
Jason Catlett, president of Junkbusters, a New Jersey-based online advocacy group, told Newsbytes the disclosure, called a 'data spill,' was undoubtedly accidental but is not at all uncommon.
Jason Catlett, president of Junkbusters, a New Jersey-based online advocacy group, told Newsbytes the disclosure, called a 'data spill,' was undoubtedly accidental but is not at all uncommon.
Is working at your PC hazardous to your health? At first sight that question may seem silly: no rivers or bays have been spoiled by PC data spills; no communities have been rendered uninhabitable by toxic memory dumps.