Google Cloud says it deleted leaked presidential info at Korean gov't request

Google Cloud revealed that it promptly deleted sensitive personal information of the Korean first couple, which had been leaked on its VirusTotal platform for approximately five months. This incident occurred following a request from Korean authorities. The revelation came after it was discovered that the malware analysis platform had stored confidential data from 168 individuals who were on President Lee Jae Myung's European trip in June.

Google Cloud affirmed in a statement to The Korea Times that the relevant data was removed from VirusTotal immediately after verifying the government's request. The company's statement, sent on Friday, explained that VirusTotal scans files and URLs concurrently using over 70 antivirus engines and security tools. When files are uploaded via its public interface, they are shared with participating security vendors, potentially making them accessible to external parties if an organization subscribes to VirusTotal's enterprise datasets. A media report on Monday highlighted that a file containing the leaked data had been found.