Russian search engine alerts Google to possible data problem

MOSCOW — A Russian Internet company says it has received complaints that its search engine was turning up some Google documents that appeared to be meant for personal use.

Yandex spokesman Ilya Grabovsky said Thursday that some Internet users contacted the company Wednesday to say that its public search engine was yielding what looked like personal Google files. Grabovsky said the company has alerted Google.

It was unclear whether the files were meant to be publicly viewable by their authors and how many there were. Google did not comment.

On Wednesday night, Russian social media users started posting scores of documents they said turned up in the search.

Grabovsky said that a Yandex search only yields files that don’t require logins or passwords. He added that the files were also turning up in other search engines. /ee