Technology

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• 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 the exposed information was from background checks, there is a very real possibility that these were conducted without the knowledge or consent of the individual whose information was exposed.

This leaves many people vulnerable, especially to social engineering attacks, as criminals could easily leverage sensitive information to trick victims, using information about family members, financial information, or employment records.

With such extensive personally identifiable information exposed, there’s also a risk of identity theft, exposing victims to serious financial loss.

There’s no indication yet that criminals accessed the open database or collected any sensitive information, but now that the information has been restricted, researchers will likely monitor the dark web to see if any of the data is listed for sale.

This isn’t the first data breach this year from a background check company, as National Public Data suffered one of the biggest data breaches ever back in August 2024, and is now facing a class action lawsuit for failing to protect personal records.

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• The next Witcher game is now in full-scale production, according to CD Projekt Red
• According to the studio's joint CEO, the team wrapped preproduction several weeks ago
• The studio also revealed that Cyberpunk 2077 has now sold 30 million copies

CD Projekt Red has announced that The Witcher 4 has officially entered "full-scale production".

The latest comes from the studio's Q3 2024 earnings report, published on November 27, where joint CEO of CD Projekt Red Michał Nowakowski shared a statement regarding the development progress of the next Witcher game, aka Project Polaris.

"I’m proud to confirm that several weeks ago the Polaris team wrapped up pre-production and moved on to full-scale production - the most intensive phase of development," said Nowakowski.

"We are very pleased with our progress on this project, and I wish to thank the team for its dedication."

Polaris was announced back in March 2022 and will kick off a new saga for The Witcher series, though at this time we don't have any details to go on regarding the story and returning characters.

In the same report, it was also revealed that Cyberpunk 2077 has now sold 30 million copies, while Phantom Liberty - the game's sole expansion - has sold over eight million in just over a year since its release.

"I’m very happy to see a large, dedicated community coalesce around our Cyberpunk games," the CEO said before adding that CD Projekt Red is "looking back at another very strong quarter."

"Cyberpunk 2077 and its Phantom Liberty expansion continue to sell very well, but The Witcher 3 is also performing admirably."

At the same time, CD Projekt Red is also currently working on Project Orion, a new game set in the Cyberpunk universe, which is being made by the team responsible for Phantom Liberty.

According to Nowakowski in August, the ongoing projects are "pretty stable" and have been "progressing at a consistent pace".

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• Microsoft threatened with antitrust investigation into cloud, AI and security practices
• Latest in series of US and EU probes for the company in 2024
• FTC set for new leadership, potentially Microsoft’s ‘get out of jail’ card

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has reportedly launched a broad antitrust investigation into Microsoft, challenging the company’s business practices across cloud computing, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity markets.

First reported by Bloomberg, the proposed investigation would focus on allegations of market dominance and other potentially anticompetitive practices.

The company has already faced criticism over bundling software within Azure services, imposing technical limitations and offering preferential pricing, all of which locks customers into the company’s ecosystem.

FTC threatens Microsoft with far-reaching investigation

This isn’t the first time Microsoft has had to fight off antitrust regulators – in the European Union, Google recently called for stricter oversight of Microsoft’s licensing terms.

The company also reached a settlement with the Cloud Infrastructure Services Providers in Europe group (CISPE) earlier this year; at that point, CISPE Secretary General Francisco Mingorance said this would mark the end of that battle.

In the cybersecurity space, Microsoft has faced criticism over the integration of its Defender antivirus within the Windows operating system, making it more difficult for other antivirus software providers to sell their own solutions and raising monopoly concerns.

A third branch of the reported FTC investigation, focusing on artificial intelligence, explores Microsoft’s deep integration with OpenAI. The company notoriously invested billions into the startup not long after ChatGPT went public, and its large language models have been used across various Microsoft applications over the years that followed.

Microsoft isn't the only company facing increased pressure from the FTC – the Commission has been cracking down on many rival firms, including Amazon, Google and Meta, too.

However, all of this could be about to change with the upcoming departure of FTC Chair Lina Khan, who has been known for her aggressive stance toward Big Tech. In contrast, the Trump administration promises a more business-friendly approach.

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