According to The Pillar news outlet, the records contain vital information. This includes rosters of synodal participants and their working group assignments.

Reports filed by these working groups at the conclusion of the first segment of the synod's discussion were also available.

Anyone with the correct web address could access the records openly without requiring a password.

The security failure has sent shockwaves through the Vatican and calls into question the level of confidentiality within the Synod.

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni has started an investigation into the matter.

Vatican embarrassed

The Pillar, in compliance with Pope Francis' request for restraint in press coverage of the synodal process, has refrained from publishing the names of members of individual working groups.

However, the revelation has left the Vatican embarrassed. It also exposed an extraordinary breach of the supposed wall of secrecy surrounding the Synod's proceedings.

One of the major concerns arising from this breach is the question of who else might have been spying on these confidential deliberations.

Additionally, the availability of the Synod's working group assignments raises doubts about the organisers' decision not to share this information with the media.

One journalist reported that Paolo Ruffini, president of the synod's information commission, said this week he did not have access to the names. He added he would be unwilling to obtain and share them with the media.

Inclusivity questioned

That such information appears to be withheld even from senior synodal participants but freely available on an unsecured server raises significant questions about the synodal secretariat's approach to internal information sharing and security.

Moreover, the reports reveal discrepancies with Synod leaders' claims that the assembly would focus on inclusivity rather than Church teaching.

Some working groups emphasised doctrinal fidelity, while at least one report proposed reconsidering doctrine on sexual morality.

The breach highlights a significant communication blunder. It undermines Pope Francis' emphasis on maintaining the confidentiality of Synod proceedings.

This secrecy is crucial to enabling Synod members to "express themselves freely."

Vatican representatives are yet to confirm the security status of the server. They have also refrained from outlining the action they intend to take in response to The Pillar's report.

Sources

Catholic News Agency

The Pillar

CathNews New Zealand

An investigation published by Vice News found that Muslim Pro was among hundreds of smartphone apps that have been providing their users' location data to private companies.

These third-party data brokers sold that anonymized location data to various contractors, who then provided it to the U.S. military.

Vice's investigation found the U.S. Special Operations Command, a branch of the military responsible for counterterrorism, counterinsurgency and special reconnaissance, purchased location data mined from the apps to support overseas missions.

Muslim Pro denied that it has sold personal user data to the U.S. military. But it confirmed that the app shared anonymized data with third party company X-Mode. X-mode then on-sold the data to the U.S. Special Operations Command.

"The trust of millions of brothers and sisters of the Ummah put in Muslim Pro every day means everything to us," Muslim Pro wrote in a statement.

Muslim Pro has stopped selling user data to X-Mode, a move that came after thousands of social media comments from Muslims worldwide.

Pray.com, a Christian faith app has been "leaking" user data, researchers from cybersecurity firm vpnMentor told Fox News.

"Pray.com's developers failed to properly secure vast amounts of data collected from the app," Ran Locar of vpnMentor's research team told Fox News. The leak potentially exposed users to fraud and online attacks.

"We don't know if anyone has actually accessed data and downloaded it. [This is] a very strong privacy lesson," Locar said.

"If an app asks for permission, it will grab the data, and the data is no longer in your control."

"When using an app on any device, carefully review the permissions it's requesting and find out for what purpose they're needed. If an app asks for access that doesn't make sense, you can refuse," vpnMentor said in the research note.

Sources

Religion News

Fox News