The keyword intitle:"index of" private is a powerful reminder of the fragility of web security. It is a signpost pointing to human error—a forgotten configuration, a rushed deployment, or a misunderstanding of how web crawlers work.
While the Panama Papers were a data breach involving proprietary software, many smaller leaks occur precisely because of open directory indexing. In 2021, a major US healthcare provider exposed over 200,000 patient records because a directory named /private/patient_data had directory listing enabled. The folder was not linked from their main site—it was simply sitting there, waiting for Google to find it via intitle:"index of" private .
For those interested in learning more about private indexing, here are some additional resources: