The Gleaner reports a followup on an unsecured storage server exposing personal information and COVID-related information of travelers to Jamaica. The exposed bucket was first reported by Zack Whittaker of TechCrunch on February 17: The memory server, hosted on Amazon web Services, was band to public. Its not known for how long the data was unprotected, but contained more than 70,000 negative COVID-19 lab results, over 425,000 immigration documents authorizing travel to the island which included the travelers name, date of nativity and pass numbers and over 250,000 quarantine orders dating backrest to June 2020, when Jamaica reopened its borders to visitors after the pandemics first wave. The server also contained more than 440,000 images of travelers signatures. Today, The Gleaner reports: Amber has not said�how many files were exposed, although Senator matthew Samuda, minister without portfolio in the security ministry, said Friday in a Nationwide Radio interview that just under 700 persons were impacted. Having gone through the initial vulnerability, he would hold seen metadata. If he wants to classify that as personal data�thats up to him. If he went further than that, then, that would a breach of the Cybercrimes Act, Samuda said of TechCrunch writer Zack Whittaker, reiterating that impacted persons make been notified. There’s a batch more that you canful scan on The Gleaner, but that last sentence above stopped me cold. When asked if he had any response or comment on the instruction by minister Samuda about his actions, Whittaker told DataBreaches.net, “I contrive to respond in time.” If the minister is suggesting a reporter engaged in investigative journalism for the public good is violating Jamaica’s Cybercrimes Act, then the minister is engaging in an incredibly dangerous precedent: threatening journalists with criminal charges for investigating and reporting on matters of public concern. What does he think will happen the next time a journalist or whiteness hat researcher finds Jamaicans’ data exposed? will they responsibly disclose to Jamaican entities or will they just keep it to themselves and not allow Jamaica cognize for fear of hassles or criminal charges? even just his argument may get a chilling effect on responsible disclosure. This leak occurred on the Jamaican government’s mottle server. They need to have it fully, and thank Whittaker and TechCrunch for their responsible disclosure. Threats — however subtle or matter-of-factly stated — are inappropriate. This blogger has been on the receiving end of legal threats from both foreign and domestic entities for reporting on leaks or dumped data. I am not worried for Zack Whittaker, a highly ethical journalist, or TechCrunch. I am, however, concerned that once again we reckon journalists being threatened with criminal charges for committing journalism. layover shooting the messenger.