A database of 2.2 million suspected terrorists and people linked to organized crime was recently leaked on the internet.
The list, known as World-Check, is managed by Thompson Reuters and used by the world’s largest banks, law firms, intelligence agencies and other clients in order to vet individuals who are suspected of terrorist activities. The list is also used to vet for money laundering, organized crime, bribery, corruption, and other activities that would present a risk to clients.
A security researcher named Chris Vickery with the software company MacKeeper, posted on Reddit that he obtained a copy of the World-Check database from mid-2014. Vickery also asserted that “no hacking was involved in the acquisition of this data.” Vickery explained the acquisition is a leak, but not directly from Thompson Reuters.
Vickery told TechCrunch in a Thursday report that the leak was due to a database software error where the information was “mistakenly” configured for public access. Vickery said that SmartKYC, a London-based financial services firm was likely responsible for the software error, according to TechCrunch.
According to Reuters, officials “monitor over 530 sanction, watch and regulatory law and enforcement lists, and hundreds of thousands of information sources, often identifying heightened-risk entities months or years before they are listed.” The information is from 2014, and according to Reuters, World-Check is updated by more than 350 research analysts in locations around the globe.
“Thomson Reuters did confirm to me early this morning that they have been working with SmartKYC to secure the data and it is believed to now be offline,” Vickery told TechCrunch via email.
Following the incident, Thomson Reuters released a statement that acknowledged that a “third party” had exposed information from the World-Check database. Thomson Reuters went as far as to thank Vickery, releasing a statement that said, in part, “We are grateful to Chris Vickery for bringing this to our attention, and immediately took steps to contact the third party responsible.”
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