More than 24 million financial and banking documents, representing tens of thousands of loans and mortgages from some of the biggest banks in the US, have been discovered online after a server security glitch. TechCrunch traced the leak back to Ascension, a data and analytics company for the financial services industry, based in Forth Worth, Texas. The company provides data analysis and portfolio valuations. Among its services, the Ascension converts paper documents and handwritten notes into computer-readable files — known as OCR. It’s that repository of converted documents that was exposed. The server held more than a decade’s worth of data, including loan and mortgage agreements, repayment schedules and other sensitive financial information. Sandy Campbell, general counsel at Ascension’s parent company, Rocktop Partners, which owns more than 46,000 loans worth $4.4 billion, confirmed the security incident to TechCrunch, but said its systems were unaffected. “On January 15, this vendor learned of a server configuration error that may have led to exposure of some mortgage-related documents,” he said in a statement. “The vendor immediately shut down the server in question, and we are working with third-party forensics experts to investigate the situation. We are also in regular contact with law enforcement investigators and technology partners as this investigation proceeds.”
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