We regularly report on governments and agencies suffering massive data leaks, with a large number of them being prompted by human failure, or a complete lack of security features. Many of these leaks prove dangerous - or, at the very least, annoying - for a large number of users, but one leak may actually lead to a safer world.
The UK"s Sky News reports that it is in possession of tens of thousands of documents that contain names, addresses, phone numbers and further identification of ISIS members. Sky has shared this data with the authorities.
The info was received thanks to a disillusioned former ISIS member who stole the data on a USB key and defected. The names and personal details of members were collected when originally joining the terror group, when recruits had to fill out a questionnaire.
If this data proves accurate, and early reports seem to suggest that it is, it could be a veritable gold mine of information for authorities across Europe, Africa and North America. The files reportedly even contained a document with the names and personal information of ISIS members willing to commit suicide attacks.
ISIS has been mentioned numerous times as a terrorist organization that uses cutting edge technology and social media to spread its propaganda and perform attacks. However, those paying closer attention to their actions have deemed ISIS to be technologically unsophisticated, a characterization that seems to have been proven true, considering even a well configured version of Microsoft Office might have prevented this data leak.
Source: Sky News | USB Flash Drive image via Shutterstock