Skip to main content

Database with info on 2.2 million suspected criminals finds its way online

A database used by businesses to assess risks associated with their clients has been leaked online. The 2.2 million records on offer are used by 49 of the world’s 50 largest banking organizations — but there are concerns that inaccuracies in the information could cause problems.

Thomson Reuters maintains the World-Check Risk Screening service to provide financial institutions, law enforcement and intelligence agencies with information about potential clients. The service is intended to brief companies about individuals and organizations that are suspected of links with various forms of criminal activity.

Recommended Videos

The service monitors more than 500 watch lists sourced from all over the world to supply this information, with some 6000 clients across 170 countries paying for access.

Thomson Reuters claims that its information often edges ahead of top government watch lists. “In 2012 alone we identified more than 180 entities before they appeared on the US Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) list based on reputable sources identifying relevant risks,” reads a statement on the company’s website.

However, there have been some criticisms of the World-Check Risk Screening service related to erroneous records. A number of activists and even charitable organizations have been incorrectly added to the terrorism subcategory of the database, according to a report from Vice. These inaccurate records could be very destructive now that the list has been leaked.

The leak was discovered by security expert Chris Vickery, who claims that the list is now accessible without login credentials, according to a report from the BBC. However, Vickery stresses that this unprotected copy of the database was not hosted by Thomson Reuters.

“We are grateful to Chris Vickery for bringing this to our attention, and immediately took steps to contact the third party responsible – as a result we can confirm that the third party has taken down the information,” said company spokesman David Crundwell.

Brad Jones
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Brad is an English-born writer currently splitting his time between Edinburgh and Pennsylvania. You can find him on Twitter…
AMD on AM4 socket longevity, AM5, and the future
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D socketed in a motherboard.

When AMD launched its Ryzen processors on a newly minted AM4 socket in 2017, it was a game changing moment. Finally, AMD was bringing back real competition to Intel. But while Ryzen was killing off the relevance of the venerable quad core, it was also introducing a new idea of socket longevity that would see gamers able to evolve their PCs over time, rather than ripping their guts out every few years.

AM4 went on to be AMD's flagship socket for more than half a decade. But while team red has since moved on to newer sockets and CPUs, AM4's sheer lifespan has become one of its most defining features. It's become something expectant from AMD fans for socket AM5 and beyond.

Read more
Every macOS version in order: from the first public beta to macOS 15
Apple MacBook Air 15 M4 front angled view showing display and keyboard.

Apple’s macOS operating system has changed a lot over the last 25 years, with new features and designs coming and going as the decades have passed. Even the name has been adjusted, starting out as Mac OS X before shortening to OS X and eventually settling on macOS. The world the original version inhabited back in 2000 is very different to today.

Including the initial public beta, Apple has released 22 versions of the Mac operating system so far, with new launches becoming an annual occurrence. But it wasn’t always this way, and there have been some fascinating updates and developments in the time since the first version appeared. Let’s see how macOS has changed over the years.

Read more
I tested Microsoft’s controversial Recall tool. It evolved Windows for me.
Running Windows 11 Recall on a Copilot+ PC.

Imagine a tool that takes an image of whatever appears on your computer’s screen, saves it locally, and lets you access it all like a time machine. A magical looking glass for the computing past. That’s essentially what Microsoft’s Recall is all about. Yet, when it was first introduced, it stirred up a security storm.

Microsoft pulled its release plans, fortified the security guardrails, and relaunched it a few weeks ago. This time around, Recall got a minor-but-amazingly practical upgrade. The best part? Instead of having you scrub through a long timeline of pictures, you can simply search through the entire activity history with words.

Read more