What guided the GhostR group, and what will now happen to thousands of people from different countries.
The World-Check database used by companies to check the reliability of users was recently stolen by cybercriminals. This was reported by a member of the GhostR group, who claimed responsibility for the theft. A representative of the London Stock Exchange, which manages the database, confirmed the authenticity of the leak, pointing out that the breach occurred at a third party responsible for data storage.
Screenshot from the BreachForums forum (translated from English)
The World-Check database contains information about potential threats, including terrorists, money launderers, dodgy politicians, and other controversial individuals. The list includes more than 5.3 million records and is widely used by financial institutions to perform KYC customer verification procedures.
According to a representative of the exchange, the data was illegally obtained from a third-party system. Work is currently underway to strengthen data protection, and cooperation is underway with affected parties to notify the relevant authorities.
GhostR hackers are threatening to start publishing stolen data soon, which could include information about thousands of individuals, including members of the royal families. As confirmation of their intentions, the hackers provided journalists with a sample of data for 10,000 records.
The study of this sample showed that the database contains information about various personalities from around the world, including political figures, judges and diplomats. The list also includes names of well-known cybercriminals, including those suspected of working for China's APT31, who were added to the sanctions list just a few weeks ago.
World-Check data includes the full names, category of individuals (for example, their affiliation with organized crime or politics), in some cases their specific position, gender, dates and places of birth (if known), known aliases, social security numbers, and a small explanation of why they appear on the list.
However, many people criticize the accuracy of the World-Check list data.
In 2016, this list was already leaked to hacker forums. The leak of data led to the erroneous addition of innocent people to other sanctions lists, which affected their reputation and financial condition.
As a result of one of these mistakes, a mosque in London's Finsbury Park won a court case against the news agency for improper inclusion in the list, after which banks refused to cooperate with the institution.
The World-Check case highlights the importance of protecting personal data and the possible consequences of data leaks affecting both individual and corporate interests.
The World-Check database used by companies to check the reliability of users was recently stolen by cybercriminals. This was reported by a member of the GhostR group, who claimed responsibility for the theft. A representative of the London Stock Exchange, which manages the database, confirmed the authenticity of the leak, pointing out that the breach occurred at a third party responsible for data storage.
Screenshot from the BreachForums forum (translated from English)
The World-Check database contains information about potential threats, including terrorists, money launderers, dodgy politicians, and other controversial individuals. The list includes more than 5.3 million records and is widely used by financial institutions to perform KYC customer verification procedures.
According to a representative of the exchange, the data was illegally obtained from a third-party system. Work is currently underway to strengthen data protection, and cooperation is underway with affected parties to notify the relevant authorities.
GhostR hackers are threatening to start publishing stolen data soon, which could include information about thousands of individuals, including members of the royal families. As confirmation of their intentions, the hackers provided journalists with a sample of data for 10,000 records.
The study of this sample showed that the database contains information about various personalities from around the world, including political figures, judges and diplomats. The list also includes names of well-known cybercriminals, including those suspected of working for China's APT31, who were added to the sanctions list just a few weeks ago.
World-Check data includes the full names, category of individuals (for example, their affiliation with organized crime or politics), in some cases their specific position, gender, dates and places of birth (if known), known aliases, social security numbers, and a small explanation of why they appear on the list.
However, many people criticize the accuracy of the World-Check list data.
In 2016, this list was already leaked to hacker forums. The leak of data led to the erroneous addition of innocent people to other sanctions lists, which affected their reputation and financial condition.
As a result of one of these mistakes, a mosque in London's Finsbury Park won a court case against the news agency for improper inclusion in the list, after which banks refused to cooperate with the institution.
The World-Check case highlights the importance of protecting personal data and the possible consequences of data leaks affecting both individual and corporate interests.
