LexisNexis suffers mafia related data breach

LexisNexis has sent a warning to over 13,000 people after discovering a possible data breach. The information broker says that a Florida man facing charges in a mafia racketeering conspiracy may have accessed some databases that used to be used to track terrorists. The man, Lee Klein, is said to be part of the Bonanno crime family.

The Department of Justice says Klein is accused of using the databases to get information on possible extortion and assault targets and also to find information on members and associates suspected of having ties to law enforcement.

In a statement, LexisNexis said Monday that “the former Seisint customer involved in this matter should have provided notice to potentially affected individuals. However, because the customer is no longer in business we provided the notice.” The company said it sent out 13,329 notification letters.

Seisint is well known as the creator of the MATRIX (Multi-State Anti-Terrorism Information Exchange) project that was shut down in 2005 due to privacy concerns. LexisNexis acquired Seisint in 2004.

This isn’t the first time LexisNexis has been hit by a data breech. In May, a man was charged with setting up a fake collection agency, registering an account with LexisNexis and then selling the the SSNs he obtained for $30 each, and last year the U.S. Federal Trade Commission brought charges against them, saying the company was not doing enough to protect its data. LexisNexis reached a settlement with them.

Read [PCWorld]