Huge data breach exposes over 600,000 records, including background checks, vehicle, and property records

• Breach by SL Data Services has exposed 600,000 personal records
• Records include full names, addresses, and financial information
• The database was not password protected

A database belonging to SL Data Services containing hundreds of thousands of records has been discovered online to be publicly exposed and not password-protected or encrypted.

Over 640,000 records (713.1GB) PDF files were discovered by cybersecurity researcher Jeremiah Fowler, who revealed this included vehicle records, court records, and property ownership reports. The documents were primarily labelled ‘background checks’, and included full names, addresses, email addresses, employment details, social media accounts, phone numbers, and criminal records.

It’s not clear how long the information was openly accessible, but after the responsible disclosure notice was sent, the information was restricted one week later. The database may belong to a third-party contractor, or directly by SL Data Services.

Background check information

Since the vast majority of ...